In vitro differentiation and protein synthesis in imaginal wing discs of wild type and vestigial Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

In vitro development of the wing imaginal discs of the vestigial (vg) mutant and wild type Drosophila melanogaster was compared and correlated with the pattern of protein synthesis. Four distinct morphogenetic processes could be recognized in the wild type discs: evagination of wing pouch, folding of wing disc, dorsal-ventral flattening of primordial wing blade and unfolding of wing discs. In contrast the last two processes were not seen in vg. Both types of wing discs showed the same dose response to 20-hydroxyecdysone, maximum development being achieved when discs were cultured in 0.1 μg/ml of hormone. The general pattern of protein synthesis was very similar in both the wild type and vg wing discs, but quantitative changes in the synthesis of some protein species were detected during development in vitro in the two types of wing discs. Furthermore, differences in the relative amount of some proteins synthesized at corresponding developmental stages were detected between wild type and vg wing discs. The abnormal development of vg wing discs can be correlated with precocious reduction in the synthesis of some proteins.