Glutamate signaling at cytoneme synapses

Cytoneme signaling in fly development During development of certain tissues in the fruit fly, signaling from one tissue to another appears to occur through specialized filopodia called cytonemes. The cytonemes contain receptors and reach close toward the signal-producing cells. Huang et al. report that components of neuronal signaling at synapses also function in proper formation of cytoneme appositions and signaling. Various manipulations of calcium signaling, expression of dominant-negative glutamate receptor proteins, or depletion of vesicle transport proteins or components of voltage-gated calcium channels influenced the presence of cytonemes and signaling. Science , this issue p. 948