DROSOPHILA JUN MEDIATES RAS-DEPENDENT PHOTORECEPTOR DETERMINATION

The expression of the D. melanogaster transcription factor Jun in the eye imaginal disc correlates temporally and spatially with the determination of neuronal photoreceptor fate. Expression of dominant negative forms of Jun in photoreceptor precursor cells results in dose-dependent loss of photoreceptors in the adult fly. Conversely, localized overexpression of Jun in the eye imaginal disc can induce the differentiation of additional photoreceptor cells. Furthermore, the transformation of nonneuronal cone cells into R7 neurons elicited by constitutively active forms of sevenless, Ras1, Raf, and MAP kinase is relieved in the presence of Jun mutants. These results demonstrate a requirement of Jun downstream of the sevenless/ras signaling pathway for neuronal development in the Drosophila eye.