Sorted wing disc proneural cluster cells

Fluorescence-activated cell sorting of M4-GFP wing imaginal disc cells was used to recover a purified population of the cells that comprise the proneural clusters from which sensory organ precursors of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) arise. Whole-genome microarray analysis and in situ hybridization was then used to identify and verify a set of genes that are preferentially expressed in proneural cluster cells. Genes in this set encode proteins with a diverse array of implied functions, and loss-of-function analysis of two candidate genes shows that they are indeed required for normal PNS development.

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Reeves N, Posakony JW