MORPHOGENESIS OF DENTICLES AND HAIRS IN DROSOPHILA EMBRYOS - INVOLVEMENT OF ACTIN-ASSOCIATED PROTEINS THAT ALSO AFFECT ADULT STRUCTURES

We sought components that function in morphogenetic events downstream from the segmentation pathway in Drosophila embryos, so we examined mu tations that affect development of adult hairs and/or bristles to iden tify a subset that also affect hairs and denticles on the cuticle of f irst instar larvae. Mutations at 4 of 23 loci surveyed cause distinct abnormalities in these larval structures, and two other loci have more subtle, variable effects. Tn particular, forked and singed mutants pr oduce complex, allele-specific phenotypes. These loci encode actin-ass ociated proteins and, consistent with that information, mutations caus e abnormalities in actin bundles that support nascent hairs and dentic les in stage 14-16 embryos. We suggest that interactions between these and other actin-associated proteins are important in generating the d iverse shapes of the cuticular specializations seen in both larvae and adults. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.