Although the formation of the Drosophila tracheal system is partly understood, little is known about how the terminal branches of this network of epithelial tubes are maintained. Levi, Ghabrial and Krasnow now reveal that integrin-talin adhesion complexes maintain these branches and their luminal organization (see p. 2383). Tracheal terminal cells form hollow terminal branches, which adhere tightly to target tissues to supply them with oxygen. In a genetic screen, the researchers isolated tendrils mutants, which have fewer than normal terminal tracheal branches that contain multiple, convoluted lumens. This phenotype arises late in development from loss of branches but not their lumens and is caused by mutations in the gene encoding talin, which links integrin cell-adhesion molecules to the cytoskeleton. Terminal cells mutant for Drosophila β-integrins also show the tendrilsphenotype. The researchers conclude that integrin-talin adhesion complexes anchor mature terminal branches to their target tissues and also maintain their luminal organization. Similar complexes, they suggest, may stabilize other tubular networks.
Talin(t) for tracheal branching
Talin(t) for tracheal branching. Development 15 June 2006; 133 (12): e1206. doi:
Download citation file:
Advertisement
Cited by
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
Did you know that Development publishes perspectives on recent preprints? These articles help our readers navigate the ever-growing preprint literature. We welcome proposals for ‘In preprints’ articles, so please do get in touch if you’d like to contribute.