The role of the peripodial membrane of leg and wing imaginal discs ofDrosophila melanogaster during evagination and differentiation in vitro.

The thin region of the peripodial membrane is confined to the area overlying the distal anlagen in thoracic discs. During the early stages of evagination the peripodial membrane is greatly stretched, but does not rupture. The appendage then evaginates through the stalk, probably by means of a contraction of the peripodial membrane. The cells of the peripodial membrane of leg and wing discs persist and differentiate sheets of trichomes characteristic of the ventral and lateral thorax. This is discussed in relation to imaginal disc fate maps.