EGFR and wingless signaling pathways interact to specify the ocellar pattern in Drosophila

This report shows that the Wingless signaling pathway regulates the expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in Drosophila. This pathway specifies cell fate during head development. Blocking wingless signaling upregulates Drosophila epidermal growth factor receptor (DER) activity and expands its expression domains in the eye primordium. Moreover, ectopic expression of wingless inhibits DER signaling and dramatically restricts its expression domain. This study suggests a novel role of wingless in specifying the Drosophila dorsal head via blocking vein expression in this region.