Roles of the Notch gene in Drosophila wing morphogenesis.

The Notch gene encodes a transmembrane protein that functions as a receptor of intercellular signals in many developmental processes of Drosophila. We study here the Notch function in wing morphogenesis and vein patterning in genetic mosaics of both Notch null and Notch gain-of-function alleles. Cell proliferation and differentiation properties of mutant Notch cells define three different Notch requirements in the wing: in imaginal disc cell proliferation, in restriction of vein differentiation and in margin formation. The study of Notch mosaics in different mutant backgrounds reveals that Notch activity during epidermal cell proliferation and wing vein differentiation is exerted by its regulation of a common group of genes involved in the specification and restriction of vein competent regions.