Protein synthetic patterns during differentiation of imaginal discs in vitro

Leg, wing, and eye-antennal imaginal discs of Drosophila melanogaster were obtained by dissection from late-third instar larvae and cultured in vitro in Schneider's medium containing β-ecdysone. Differentiation of adult structures was obtained in more than 90% of all cultures. Differentiation was somewhat slower than normal in vivo development, but synchronous, repeatable, and reasonably completed structures were obtained. Our initial efforts at analyzing the molecular events of imaginal disc differentiation in culture have been to study the protein synthetic pattern which occurs throughout the culture period. Discs were pulse labeled with [ 35S]methionine, and the proteins were separated by SDS-gel electrophoresis. Analysis of the synthetic pattern was done by autoradiography of these gels using X-ray film. In all three disc types, pronounced changes in protein synthetic patterns occurred throughout the culture period. These changes appeared to be under strict temporal control. Although disc-specific differences could be seen, a comparison of the three discs types revealed a striking similarity in the changes which occurred in the patterns of protein synthesis during the 5-day culture period. In general, the protein synthetic patterns of different imaginal discs at the same period during differentiation showed greater similarities than the patterns of a single disc type at different periods. These results are consistent with a view of differentiation as a tightly controlled program of gene activation and deactivation operating throughout the differentiation process.