Requirements of Lgl in cell differentiation and motility during Drosophila ovarian follicular epithelium morphogenesis

The epithelial follicle cell layer over the egg chamber in Drosophila ovary undergoes patterning and morphogenesis at oogenesis. These developmental processes are essential for constructing the eggshell and establishing the body axes of the egg and resultant embryo, thereby being crucial for the egg development. We have previously shown that lethal(2) giant larvae (lgl), a Drosophila neoplastic tumor suppressor gene (nTSG) is required for the posterior follicle cell (PFC) fate induction during antero-posterior pattern formation of the follicular epithelium. In this report, we further characterize lgl in this epithelium patterning and the morphogenetic changes of specified border cells. Genetic interactions of lgl with discs large (dlg) and scribble (scrib), another two nTSGs in specifying the PFC fate reveal a cooperative role of this group of genes. Meanwhile, we find that loss of lgl function causes failure of follicle cells at the anterior to differentiate properly. The clonal analysis further indicates that lgl is necessary not only for the border cell differentiation, but also for control of the collective border cell migration via presumably modulating the apico-basal polarity and cell adhesion. Overall, we identify Lgl as an essential factor in regulating differentiation and morphogenetic movement of the ovarian epithelial follicle cells.