Wing of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. (Photo: M. Affolter, Biozentrum, University of Basel)
Wing of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. (Photo: M. Affolter, Biozentrum, University of Basel) - To form an organ, cells must communicate properly and develop their number, shape and size down to the smallest detail. A research team at the University of Basel investigates wing growth in the fruit fly and now has refuted a long-standing dogma. Contrary to what was previously assumed, the team showed that the dispersal of a signalling molecule called Dpp is not responsible for the entire wing shape and size. How organs develop and how they grow to the right size and shape are fundamental questions in developmental biology. The morphogen Dpp is a signaling molecule controlling the development of different organs with regard to the correct growth and shape. For many years, Professor Markus Affolter's research group at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has been investigating how Dpp controls wing cell fates and growth in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model system.
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