CYTOSKELETAL FUNCTIONS DURING DROSOPHILA OOGENESIS

Organismal morphogenesis is driven by a complex series of developmenta lly coordinated changes in cell shape, size, and number. These changes in cell morphology are in turn dependent on alterations in basic cyto architecture. Elucidating the mechanisms of development thus requires an understanding of the cytoskeletal elements that organize the cytopl asm of differentiating cells. Drosophila oogenesis has emerged as a ve rsatile system for the study of cytoskeletal function during developme nt. A series of highly coordinated changes in cytoskeletal organizatio n are required to produce a mature Drosophila oocyte, and these cytosk eletal transformations are amenable to a variety of experimental appro aches. Genetic, molecular, and cytological studies have shed light on the specific functions of the cytoskeleton during oogenesis. The resul ts of these studies are reviewed here, and their mechanistic implicati ons are considered.