Because different tissues begin apoptosis at different stages of development, changes in the expression of inhibitors and activators of apoptosis are expected to be tissue-specific. For example, the expression profiles observed for the caspase-1 activator and the Diap1 inhibitor are those expected in tissues such as the larval salivary glands. Effects of Mutation or Deletion There are no significant abnormalities related to cell death in dcp-1 mutants. Thus zygotic DCP-1 function is not required for most embryonic cell deaths in Drosophila, perhaps because of the existence of additional capspases. Although most of the dcp-1 mutants die before the third instar larval stage, some reach that stage and display several abnormalities.
Mutant larvae lack imaginal discs and gonads.
In addition, they have fragile trachea. During Drosophila oogenesis , nurse cells transfer their cytoplasmic contents to developing oocytes and then die. Loss of function for the dcp-1 gene, which encodes a caspase, causes female sterility by inhibiting this transfer. Breakdown of the nuclear envelope is a central event during apoptosis and is accompanied by caspase-mediated cleavage of nuclear lamins. To address whether nuclear lamins are degraded as nurse cells become permeable, egg chambers were examined for the distribution of Lamin Dm0.