Socs36E attenuates STAT signaling to optimize motile cell specification in the Drosophila ovary

Socs36E is integral to a genetic circuit that attenuates STAT activity to optimize the number of motile cells in the Drosophila egg chamber. (A) In wild-type anterior follicle cells at mid-oogenesis, signal from the polar cells (indicated with black circles) activates STAT highly in neighboring cells (purple) and to a lower extent in farther cells (blue). At a later stage as the border cell cluster moves away, STAT activity is maintained in motile cells and shut down in non-invasive cells that remain in the squamous epithelium (white). The system of determining the invasive cells from the epithelium requires the genetic regulatory circuit drawn on the right. (B) When Socs36E function is lost, STAT is highly activated across a larger field (indicated by purple circles). Later, STAT activity remains high in border cells, but is also maintained in other cells, which become inappropriately invasive (blue). The impact of loss of Socs36E on the genetic circuit is shown on the right.160