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D L Brower

Publications and source records attributed to D L Brower.

46 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A position-specific cell surface antigen in the drosophila wing imaginal disc.

The antibody produced by the hybrid cell line DK. 1A4 recognizes an antigen present initially on all the epithelial cells of the D. melanogaster wing imaginal disc. This antigen becomes progressively restricted to cells in the dorsal region of the disc during the final larval instar. The presence of the antigen does not correlate with the specific adult structures to which the cells will eventually contribute, but rather with the position of the cells in the disc. In late discs, the line bounding the region in which the antigen persists corresponds to the boundary between the dorsal and ventral compartments are revealed by a clonal analysis of the undifferentiated disc. Together, these data suggest that the antigen's disappearance may be specific to the cells of the ventral compartment of the wing disc.

Animals↗

Differentiation within the gonads of Drosophila revealed by immunofluorescence.

The antibody produced by the hybrid cell line DA.1B6 binds to the diploid epithelial cells of Drosophila. In this paper, we describe the immunofluorescence-binding pattern of the antibody to the gonads. A bright sheath of fluorescence extends from the seminal vesicle onto the most proximal part of the adult testis. The only other significant binding to the organ is to the apical cells of the germinal proliferation centre, which fluoresce brightly in testes from adults and from third instar larvae. In the adult ovary, there is strong binding to the cells of the follicular epithelium, although this binding is reduced in the latter stages of follicle development. Soon after the formation of a follicle, a pair of epithelial cells at each pole of the follicle can be seen to fluoresce much more brightly than the other cells. This early differentiation is reflected in the morphogenetic behaviour of these polar cells as the follicle develops. The anterior pair are among the 'border cells' which migrate between the nurse cells to the anterior pole of the developing oocyte; and, when the follicular epithelium around the oocyte becomes columnar, the posterior pair of cells do not elongate as much as the surrounding cells.

Animals↗

A monoclonal antibody specific for diploid epithelial cells in Drosophila.

Results from various experiments suggest that the cell surface has an important role in development. However, there is relatively little information on the specific surface molecules involved in developmental processes. In an effort to characterize cell-surface components that may be involved in Drosophila development, we have been making monoclonal antibodies against D. melanogaster imaginal disks. The holometabolous insects are unusual in that scattered among the larval tissues are groups of undifferentiated imaginal cells which, during metamorphosis, will form most of the adult insect. The imaginal disks, which we use as an immunogen, are hollow sacs of cells; each disk will form a specific part of the adult cuticle. Other imaginal cells are found as nests or rings in various larval organs. We describe here results indicating that one of the clones we have isolated, DA.1B6, makes an antibody against an antigen which, in larvae, is generally restricted to the undifferentiated sheets of imaginal epithelial cells. This and other results indicate that the antigen is specific for the diploid epithelia in Drosophila.

Animals↗

Visualization of particle complexes in the plasma membrane of Micrasterias denticulata associated with the formation of cellulose fibrils in primary and secondary cell walls.

Highly ordered arrays of intramembrane particles are observed in freeze-fractured plasma membranes of the green alga Micrasterias denticulata during the synthesis of the secondary cell wall. The observable architecture of the complex consists primarily of a precise hexagonal array of from 3 to 175 rosettes, consisting of 6 particles each, which fracture with the P-face. The complexes are observed at the ends of impressions of cellulose fibrils. The distance between rows of rosettes is equal to the center-to-center distance between parallel cellulose fibrils of the secondary wall. Correlation of the structure of the complex with the pattern of deposition indicates that the size of a given fibril is proportional to the number of rosettes engaged in its formation. Vesicles containing hexagonal arrays of rosettes are found in the cytoplasm and can be observed in the process of fusing with the plasma membrane, suggesting that the complexes are first assembled in the cytoplasm and then incorporated into the plasma membrane, where they become active in fibril formation. Single rosettes appear to be responsible for the synthesis of microfibrils during primary wall growth. Similar rosettes have now been detected in a green alga, in fern protonemata, and in higher plant cells. This structure, therefore, probably represents a significant component of the cellulose synthesizing mechanism in a large variety of plant cells.

Cell Membrane↗

The effects of applied electric fields on Micrasterias. I. Morphogenesis and the pattern of cell wall deposition.

Applied electric fields of approximately 14 V/cm have profound effects on the morphogenesis of the unicellular green alga, Micrasterias denticulata. This field corresponds to a potential drop of 15-40 mV across lobes oriented perpendicular to the applied field. These lobes show a galvanotropism toward the cathode. Lobes growing parallel to the field are stunted to varying degrees, depending on their orientation. As shown by other investigators, most cell wall material is normally deposited at the tips of growing lobes. If, however, cell expansion is osmotically inhibited in electric fields, wall material also accumulates along the cathode-facing (CF) sides of lobes oriented perpendicular to the field. Similarly, in cells growing under the influence of an applied field, radioactively labelled glucose and the methyl groups from methionine are incorporated along the CF sides of lobes as well as the lobe tips. This is also true when the label is added immediately after cells are removed from the fields, indicating that the wall-depositing machinery itself has been temporarily altered by the field. These results demonstrate that applied electric fields can be a valuable tool in elucidating the mechanisms of growth localization in Micrasterias cells.

Cell Wall↗

The effects of applied electric fields on Micrasterias. II. The distributions of cytoplasmic and plasma membrane components.

The accompanying paper describes the effects of applied electric fields on the morphogenesis and patterns of wall deposition of growing cells of Micrasterias denticulata. This paper details the effects of electric fields (approximately 14 V cm-1) on the subcellular components of Micrasterias, including a description of the plasma membrane of growing semi-cells as visualized by freeze-fracturing. There are no gross cytoplasmic abnormalities or asymmetrics in the distributions of cytoplasmic organelles caused by the fields. In particular, neither the Large Vesicles nor Dark Vesicles are concentrated in the cathode-facing (CF) halves of lobes oriented perpendicular to the fields, where extra deposition of wall material has been shown to occur. In freeze-fracture replicas, there are about twice as many plasma membrane particles near the tips of growing lobes as there are in proximal regions of the lobes. Additionally, rosettes, consisting of 6 membrane particles, are seen predominantly in the distal parts of the lobes, and these rosettes are believed to be important in the synthesis of cell wall microfibrils. The applied fields cause a large asymmetry in the distributions of membrane particles, with larger numbers being found on the CF sides of lobes oriented perpendicular to the fields. We were not able to detect a specific effect on any class of particles. Taken all together, the data support the hypothesis that some of the factors responsible for growth localization in Micrasterias reside in the plasma membrane.

Cell Membrane↗

Posterior-to-anterior transformation in engrailed wing imaginal disks of Drosophila.

Segments in the Drosophila adult are divided into clonally distinct anterior and posterior compartments. Mutations at the engrailed locus can affect the pattern of cuticular structures in the posterior compartments of segments, but have no obvious effect on anterior structures; for example, bristles that are normally seen only on the anterior wing margin in wild-type flies can be found on the posterior margin of engrailed wings. These and clonal analysis data led to the hypothesis that engrailed causes a transformation of posterior to anterior identity in the wing cells. Despite some striking examples of this transformation, a common engrailed phenotype is the disruption or elimination of posterior pattern elements, without a clear replacement by anterior structures; this, together with indications that localized cell death can mimic some of the observed posterior-to-anterior transformations, has led some investigators to question the original engrailed hypothesis. Recently, monoclonal antibodies displaying region-specific binding patterns on the wing imaginal disk have been described, and one of these antibodies in particular provides a novel probe for the engrailed phenotype in the larval precursors of the adult wing. Here I compare the antibody binding patterns on engrailed and wild-type wing disks. The results strongly support the notion that engrailed mutations cause a posterior-to-anterior transformation in these cells.

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