Yan, an ETS-domain transcription factor, negatively modulates the Wingless pathway in the Drosophila eye

We report the identification of yan, an ETS‐domain transcription factor belonging to the Drosophila epidermal growth factor receptor (DER) pathway, as an antagonist of the Wingless signalling pathway. We demonstrate that cells lacking yan function in the Drosophila eye show increased Wingless pathway activity, and inhibition of Wingless signalling in yan −/− cells rescues the yan mutant phenotype. Biochemical analysis shows that Yan physically associates with Armadillo, a crucial effector of the Wingless pathway, thereby suggesting a direct regulatory mechanism. We conclude that yan represents a new and unsuspected molecular link between the Wingless and DER pathways. Yan is a conserved ETS transcriptional repressor that regulates EGF receptor signalling in Drosophila . In this report, the authors show that in addition to its known function in the EGF receptor pathway, Yan also negatively regulates the Wingless pathway in the Drosophila eye, and that this regulation is required for proper retinal development.