Abstract
Planar cell polarity (PCP) is a second polarity axis orthogonal to the apicobasal axis in the plane of the epithelium. The molecular link between apicobasal polarity and PCP is largely unknown. During Drosophila eye development, differentiated photoreceptors form clusters that rotate independently of the surrounding interommatidial cells (ICs). Here, we demonstrate that both Echinoid (Ed), an adherens junction (AJ)-associated cell adhesion molecule (CAM), and Flamingo (Fmi), a PCP determinant, are endocytosed via a clathrin-mediated pathway in ICs. Interestingly, we found that Ed binds AP-2 adaptor and is required for the internalization of Fmi into ICs. Loss of ed led to increased amounts of Fmi on the cell membrane of non-rotating ICs and also to the misrotation of photoreceptor clusters. Importantly, overexpression of fmi in ICs alone was sufficient to cause misrotation of the adjacent photoreceptor clusters. Together, we propose that Ed, when internalized by AP-2, might co-endocytose with and thereby decrease Fmi levels on non-rotating ICs to permit correct rotation of ommatidial clusters. Thus, co-endocytosis of Ed and Fmi provides a link between apicobasal polarity and PCP.