Drosophila Dumbfounded: A Myoblast Attractant Essential for Fusion

Aggregation and fusion of myoblasts to form myotubes is essential for myogenesis in many organisms. In Drosophila the formation of syncytial myotubes is seeded by founder myoblasts. Founders fuse with clusters of fusion-competent myoblasts. Here we identify the gene dumbfounded (duf) and show that it is required for myoblast aggregation and fusion. duf encodes a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily of proteins that is an attractant for fusion-competent myoblasts. It is expressed by founder cells and serves to attract clusters of myoblasts from which myotubes form by fusion.