Drosophila myb is required for the G₂/M transition and maintenance of diploidy

Abstract

The myb proto-oncogenes are thought to have a role in the cell division cycle. We have examined this possibility by genetic analysis in Drosophila melanogaster, which possesses a singlemyb gene. We have described previously two temperature-sensitive, recessive lethal mutants in Drosophila myb (Dm myb). The phenotypes of these mutants revealed a requirement for myb in diverse cellular lineages throughout the course of Drosophila development. We now report a cellular explanation for these findings by showing that Dm myb is required for both mitosis and prevention of endoreduplication in wing cells. Myb apparently acts at or near the time of the G₂/M transition. The two mutant alleles ofDm myb produce the same cellular phenotype, although the responsible mutations are located in different functional domains of the gene product. The mutant phenotype can be partially suppressed by ectopic expression of either cdc2 or string, two genes that are known to promote the transition from G₂ to M. We conclude that Dm myb is required for completion of cell division and may serve two independent functions: promotion of mitosis, on the one hand, and prevention of endoreduplication when cells are arrested in G₂, on the other.

Keywords

• Cell cycle
• transcription factor
• proto-oncogene
• G2/M
• endoreduplication
• diploidy