Programmed cell death and patterning in Drosophila

Selective cell death provides developing tissues with the means to precisely sculpt emerging structures. By imposing patterned cell death across a tissue, boundaries can be created and tightened. As such, programmed cell death is becoming recognized as a major mechanism for patterning of a variety of complex structures. Typically, cell types are initially organized into a fairly loose pattern; selective death then removes cells between pattern elements to create correct structures. In this review, we examine the role of selective cell death across the course of Drosophila development, including the tightening of embryonic segmental boundaries, head maturation, refining adult structures such as the eye and the wing, and the ability of cell death to correct for pattern defects introduced by gene mutation. We also review what is currently known of the relationship between signals at the cell surface that are responsible for tissue patterning and the basal cell death machinery, an issue that remains poorly understood.