Cell death in drosophila

Abstract

The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has been instrumental in identifying pathways regulating development and signal transduction. Drosophila has been a relatively late entrant into the world of apoptosis, but with its powerful genetic tools, studies in the fruit fly are destined to contribute essential insights into cell death. Drosophila has homologues to mammalian apoptotic genes, and their function can be studied at the cellular level as well as in the developing organism. As in other organisms, cell death in the fruit fly removes damaged and unneeded cells. Beyond this, however, experiments in the fruit fly have provided unique insights into how cell death removes cells that initiate the incorrect developmental program. Furthermore, Drosophila studies have begun to elucidate how cell death is spatially regulated for precise pattern formation. In this chapter, we introduce the molecular players in Drosophila cell death, discuss current knowledge about cell death during development, introduce the idea that dying cells induce neighboring cells to proliferate, and finish with nonapoptotic roles for cell death proteins.