O. Zilian et al., double-time is identical to discs overgrown, which is required for cell survival, proliferation and growth arrest in Drosophila imaginal discs, DEVELOPMENT, 126(23), 1999, pp. 5409-5420
We have isolated the discs overgrown gene of Drosophila and shown that it e
ncodes a homolog of the Casein kinase I delta/epsilon subfamily and is iden
tical to the double-time gene. However, in contrast to the weak double-time
alleles, which appear to affect only the circadian rhythm, discs overgrown
alleles, including bona fide null alleles, show strong effects on cell sur
vival and growth control in imaginal discs. Analysis of their phenotypes an
d molecular lesions suggests that the Discs overgrown protein is a crucial
component in the mechanism that links cell survival during proliferation to
growth arrest in imaginal discs. This work provides the first analysis in
a multicellular organism of Casein kinase I delta/epsilon functions necessa
ry for survival. Since the amino acid sequences and three-dimensional struc
tures of Casein kinase I delta/epsilon enzymes are highly conserved, the re
sults suggest that these proteins may also function in controlling cell gro
wth and survival in other organisms.