Abstract
Cell proliferation and cell death are two opposing, yet complementary fundamental processes in development. Cell proliferation provides new cells, while developmental programmed cell death adjusts cell numbers and refines structures as an organism grows. Apoptosis is the best-characterized form of programmed cell death; however, there are many other non-apoptotic forms of cell death that occur throughout development. Drosophila is an excellent model for studying these varied forms of cell death given the array of cellular, molecular, and genetic techniques available. In this review, we discuss select examples of apoptotic and non-apoptotic cell death that occur in different tissues and at different stages of Drosophila development. For example, apoptosis occurs throughout the nervous system to achieve an appropriate number of neurons. Elsewhere in the fly, non-apoptotic modes of developmental cell death are employed, such as in the elimination of larval salivary glands and midgut during metamorphosis. These and other examples discussed here demonstrate the versatility of Drosophila as a model organism for elucidating the diverse modes of programmed cell death.
Highlights
Programmed cell death (PCD) falls under the umbrella of regulated cell death, which constitutes all cell death that is controlled through a precise molecular mechanism [1,2]
While cell death was historically thought of as a final punctuation to the vibrant life of a cell, it is appreciated that the process of cell death is dynamic
Over a dozen cell death modalities have been identified since apoptosis was discovered to be genetically encoded in
Summary
Programmed cell death (PCD) is defined as cell death that occurs normally during development or to maintain cellular homeostasis. An estimated 200–300 billion cells die each day [13] 2018, 6, 26 death has been assumed to be apoptotic; non-apoptotic forms of cell death are found to be physiologically relevant in development and disease [2]. Many other examples of apoptotic cell death, such as in imaginal discs [14], the tarsal region of the leg [15,16], embryonic segment morphogenesis [17], organogenesis of genitalia [17], and cell competition [18], are not reviewed here, and we refer readers to those original publications. Select examples of other cell death events are listed in gray
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