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Visualizing new dimensions in Drosophila myoblast fusion
Author(s) -
Richardson Brian,
Beckett Karen,
Baylies Mary
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.20756
Subject(s) - mesoderm , drosophila (subgenus) , biology , somatic cell , microbiology and biotechnology , cell fusion , myocyte , fusion gene , drosophila melanogaster , actin , gene , genetics , evolutionary biology , cell , embryonic stem cell
Over several years, genetic studies in the model system, Drosophila melanogastor , have uncovered genes that when mutated, lead to a block in myoblast fusion. Analyses of these gene products have suggested that Arp2/3‐mediated regulation of the actin cytoskeleton is crucial to myoblast fusion in the fly. Recent advances in imaging in Drosophila embryos, both in fixed and live preparations, have led to a new appreciation of both the three‐dimensional organization of the somatic mesoderm and the cell biology underlying myoblast fusion. BioEssays 30:423–431, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.