Progenitor cells and cell migration in Drosophila morphogenesis

Trabajo presentado en el 2nd Joint SFBD/SBCF (French Societies for Cell Biology and Developmental Biology) Meeting: When Development meets Cell Biology, celebrado en Lyon (Francia), del 26 al 29 de abril de 2016Cell migration plays a fundamental role in development and homeostasis. This event is very often associated with static cells acquiring migratory capacity and becoming motile at very precise times and settings. This behaviour is one of the most characteristic examples of the epithelial cell plasticity. Not surprisingly, inappropriate migration is often associated with many pathological conditions. Another case of cell plasticity lies at the base of organs' ability to maintain their structure and function in spite of natural or accidental cell loss. This capacity is often sustained by the so-called stem cells; in addition, some specialized cells, known as facultative stem cells, also retain the ability to re-enter the cell cycle and replace lost tissue. We are studying these phenomena of cell plasticity in the context of the whole organism taking advantage of the Drosophila model and I will present the results of our lab in cell plasticity in the morphogenesis of the Drosophila digestive and tracheal (respiratory) systems.N