Britton, Edgar

Our studies of the ERT cell cycles show that they are regulated by nutrition (Britton Edgar 1998). If the newly hatched larva is starved for dietary amino acids, DNA replication in most ERTs is not initiated. Under starvation conditions these tissues express low levels of cyclin E and E2F, the transcription factor which is probably responsible for cyclin E expression. If either E2F or cyclin E is induced in starved larvae, DNA replication in the ERTs is activated, and thus expression of these genes appears to limit the ERT cell cycle. When nutrient-deprived larvae are fed, expression of E2F and cyclin E mRNAs increases approximately sixfold, and DNA replication is initiated in most ERT cells. If the animal is first fed and then starved, the ERT cell cycle is activated and then inactivated quite rapidly. These experiments all indicate that the ERT cell cycle is nutrition-responsive, rather than controlled by a rigid developmental program. 

Bruce A. Edgar, Jessica Britton, Aida Flor A. de la Cruz, Laura A. Johnston,... 

Britton JS, Edgar BA 1998 Environmental control of the cell cycle in Drosophila-, nutrition activates mitotic and endoreplicative cells by distinct mechanisms. Development 125 2149-2158... 

Linus Pauling Ernest H. Volwiler Nathaniel Howell Furman Edgar C. Britton Farrington Daniels... 

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