ABSTRACT
Drone is expressed in many cells of the developing embryo (Dorstyn et al, 1999b). Genetic reduction of Drone indicates that Drone mediates apoptosis initi ated by Rpr and Hid (Quinn et a ly 2000). In the embryo, reduction of Drone by the RNA interference technique (reviewed in Sharp, 1999) suggests that Drone is required for most developmental apoptosis. Interestingly, Drone expression is induced by the steroid hormone eedysone, which is a key regulator of apoptosis during metamorphosis (Dorstyn et al.y 1999b). No mutant alleles of Drone have been isolated, so the role of Drone in ecdysone-induced death has not yet been assessed.
