The Decapentaplegic (Dpp) morphogen gradient controls growth and patterning in the Drosophila appendages. There is recent evidence indicating that the Dpp gradient is converted into an inverse gradient of activity of the gene brinker (brk), which encodes a transcriptional repressor and is negatively regulated by the Dpp pathway. We have studied how alterations in the Brk gradient affect the growth of the wing disc. We find that there is a negative correlation between brk activity and growth of the disc:high levels of brk prevent or reduce growth, whereas loss of brk activity results in excessive growth. This effect is concentration dependent: different amounts of Brk produce distinct rates of growth. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that although brk is able to induce apoptosis where there is a sharp difference in Brk levels, its role as a growth repressor is not achieved by inducing apoptosis but by reducing cell proliferation. Brk appears to downregulate the activity of genes that control cell proliferation, such as bantam.
History of our journals
As our publisher, The Company of Biologists, turns 100 years old, read about Development’s journey and highlights from some its first issues, and explore the history of each of our sister journals: Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open.
Call for papers – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues
Development invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming special issue – Lifelong Development: the Maintenance, Regeneration and Plasticity of Tissues. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Meritxell Huch (Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Germany) and Mansi Srivastava (Harvard University and Museum of Comparative Zoology, USA), working alongside our team of academic Editors. Submit your articles by 15 May 2025.
A case for broadening our view of mechanism in developmental biology
In this Perspective, B. Duygu Özpolat and colleagues survey researchers on their views on what it takes to infer mechanism in developmental biology. They examine what factors shape our idea of what we mean by ‘mechanism’ and suggest a path forward that embraces a broad outlook on the diversity of studies that advance knowledge in our field.
In preprints
About us
Social media
