Regeneration and compartments in Drosophila.

A clonal analysis was performed in order to study the process of regeneration in wounded wing discs of Drosophila. Regeneration was induced either by cutting the disc in situ, or by shifting gynandromorphic larvae whose male tissue was hemizygous for a temperature-sensitive cell lethal to the restrictive temperature. Fast growing M+ clones, labelled with y and/or mwh, were produced by X-irradiation of the following genotypes: y; scJ4(y+)M(3)i55/mwh jv M+ (series I), and l(1)ts 504 sn3 l(1)ts 5697/ In(1)wvC; M(3)i55/mwh M+ (series II). The clones were induced either before or after the experimental lesion. Clones initiated one day prior to the lesion were able to cross compartment boundaries whereas clones initiated one day after the lesion did not do so. It is concluded that cells involved in the process of regeneration lose their compartmental commitment, but that later on the growing population of cells again becomes subdivided into the same compartments.