Coalescence of the embryonic gonad in Drosophila melanogaster requires directed migration of the primordial germ cells (PGCs) towards the somatic gonadal precursor cells (SGPs). It was recently proposed that an ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporter, Mdr49, functions in the embryonic mesoderm to facilitate the transmission of the PGC attractant from the SGPs; however, the precise molecular identity of the mdr49 dependent guidance signal remained elusive. Employing the ‘loss’ and ‘gain’ of function strategies we show that mdr49 is a component of the hh pathway and it potentiates the signaling activity. This function is direct as, in mdr49 mutant embryos, Hh ligand is inappropriately sequestered in the hh expressing cells. Our data also suggest that role of Mdr49 is to provide cholesterol for the correct processing of the Hh precursor protein. Supporting this conclusion, PGC migration defects in mdr49 embryos are substantially ameliorated by a cholesterol-rich diet.
Call for papers: Uncovering Developmental Diversity
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue: Uncovering Developmental Diversity. This issue will be coordinated by our academic Editor Cassandra Extavour (Harvard University, USA) alongside two Guest Editors: Liam Dolan (Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology, Austria) and Karen Sears (University of California Los Angeles, USA).
Choose Development in 2024
In this Editorial, Development Editor-in-Chief James Briscoe and Executive Editor Katherine Brown explain how you support your community by publishing in Development and how the journal champions serious science, community connections and progressive publishing.
Journal Meeting: From Stem Cells to Human Development
Register now for the 2024 Development Journal Meeting From Stem Cells to Human Development. Early-bird registration deadline: 3 May. Abstract submission deadline: 21 June.
Pluripotency of a founding field: rebranding developmental biology
This collaborative Perspective, the result of a workshop held in 2023, proposes a set of community actions to increase the visibility of the developmental biology field. The authors make recommendations for new funding streams, frameworks for collaborations and mechanisms by which members of the community can promote themselves and their research.
Read & Publish Open Access publishing: what authors say
We have had great feedback from authors who have benefitted from our Read & Publish agreement with their institution and have been able to publish Open Access with us without paying an APC. Read what they had to say.
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