| The coordinate control of tissue growth and fate specification is a fundamental characteristic of the development of multicellular animals. Selector genes control tissue fate and promote organ growth. The Drosophila wing has long served as a model to understand the genetic mechanisms of development. In this work, we find that the gene bowl acts as a selector gene to promote proximal fate and whole-organ growth in the developing Drosophila wing, while its inhibitor lines functions to promote distal fate. bowl function is capable of activating the Wg, Notch, and JAK/STAT signaling pathways, all of which cooperate to promote the growth of the proximal-distal axis of the wing. Thus, we establish a role for bowl and lines in controlling the development of the proximal-distal axis of the wing, and find unique roles for several canonical signaling pathways in controlling this aspect of wing development. |
