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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Oct 9.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2009 Jan;10(1):34–43. doi: 10.1038/nrm2592

Figure 3. Mechanical regulation of Twist gene expression.

Figure 3

The left panel shows a D. melanogaster embryo at the beginning of gastrulation, while the right panel shows the embryo during germband extension. During gastrulation, the tissue-lengthening movements that occur during germband extension push the tissue posteriorly, causing tissue and buckling (see black arrow). At the same time, the endoderm (shown in blue) invaginates (see blue arrow). This causes compression of the adjacernt stomodeal cells (shown in red). Inset: It is hypothesized that this compression (black arrows) leads to the Src42A-dependent nuclear translocation of the Armadillo transcription factor, which increases Twist expression 60, 61. This model places Twist expression in the appropriate location to regulate midgut differentiation. Modified with permission from 61.