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The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Drosophila Eye Development

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Book cover Drosophila Eye Development

Part of the book series: Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation ((RESULTS,volume 37))

Abstract

The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (Egfr) has been implicated in an extraordinarily vast number of developmental processes during the development of both invertebrates such as the fruit fly and vertebrates such as mouse and man. Hardly a month goes by without a new report surfacing that describes hitherto unknown roles for the Egfr pathway in new developmental contexts. The Egfr pathway has been shown to function in (among other things) cell fate specification, cell proliferation, cell cycle control, cell maintenance, programmed cell death, pattern formation and organ development. Furthermore, mutations that alter the activity and/or expression of this pathway have been shown to be the underlying cause for a wide ranging field of cancers within humans. This myriad of roles for the Egfr pathway is both a blessing and a curse in that, while it seemingly provides an unending set of opportunities to study the receptor, it is often difficult to attribute which function of the receptor is responsible for the observed phenotype. The simple structure and stereotyped development of the fly compound eye makes it an attractive model system for studying the Egfr pathway and untangling each of its many functions from one another. The goal of this review is to (1) summarize what is known about the established roles of Egfr signaling in cell fate specification and cell death and (2) to describe recent exciting results on the role of the Egfr in early eye development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1648 Pierce Drive, Atlanta, Georgia, 30322-3030, USA

    Justin P. Kumar

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  1. Justin P. Kumar
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, 1648 Pierce Drive NE, 30322-3030, Atlanta, Ga, USA

    Kevin Moses

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© 2002 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kumar, J.P. (2002). The Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Drosophila Eye Development. In: Moses, K. (eds) Drosophila Eye Development. Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation, vol 37. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-45398-7_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-45398-7_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-53640-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-45398-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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