Two Forkhead Transcription Factors Regulate the Division of Cardiac Progenitor Cells by a Polo-Dependent Pathway

SummaryThe development of a complex organ requires the specification of appropriate numbers of each of its constituent cell types, as well as their proper differentiation and correct positioning relative to each other. During Drosophila cardiogenesis, all three of these processes are controlled by jumeau (jumu) and Checkpoint suppressor homologue (CHES-1-like), two genes encoding forkhead transcription factors that we discovered utilizing an integrated genetic, genomic, and computational strategy for identifying genes expressed in the developing Drosophila heart. Both jumu and CHES-1-like are required during asymmetric cell division for the derivation of two distinct cardiac cell types from their mutual precursor and in symmetric cell divisions that produce yet a third type of heart cell. jumu and CHES-1-like control the division of cardiac progenitors by regulating the activity of Polo, a kinase involved in multiple steps of mitosis. This pathway demonstrates how transcription factors integrate diverse developmental processes during organogenesis.

Graphical AbstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (259 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► A genomic screen identifies 70 genes expressed in Drosophila cardiac cells ► Two forkhead genes, jumu and CHES-1-like, regulate Drosophila cardiogenesis ► Symmetric and asymmetric cardiac cell divisions require jumu and CHES-1-like ► The cardiogenic effects of jumu and CHES-1-like are mediated by Polo kinase