Forest Fruit

Branching out in the tissues of fruit flies (Drosophila), these cells might provide crucial clues to treating human cancers. Pictured at three stages of development, these tracheal terminal cells branch out to expand the young fly’s throat. This morphogenesis is driven by similar genes and proteins to those shaping our blood vessels. By following the cells using powerful microscopes, researchers find three types of growth – branches which extend from their tips, or grow from within, or 'bud' to form new branches, similar to acer trees although ~ 10,000 times smaller. These observations in Drosophila provide insights into how morphogenesis scales in larger organisms. Similar patterns guide growth during our own development, but crucially also drive angiogenesis – when new blood vessels form to serve cancers – and where lessons from the fly might help stop these errant branches.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Tatyana Gavrilchenko and colleagues
• Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), October 2024