Big bang regulates the apical cytocortex and wing growth through junctional tension.

Growth of epithelial tissues is regulated by a plethora of components, including signaling and scaffolding proteins, but also by junctional tension, mediated by the actomyosin cytoskeleton. However, how these players are spatially organized and functionally coordinated is not well understood. Here, we identify the scaffolding protein Big bang as a novel regulator of growth in epithelial cells of the wing disc by ensuring proper junctional tension.

Distinct intracellular motifs of Delta mediate its ubiquitylation and activation by Mindbomb1 and Neuralized.

DSL proteins are transmembrane ligands of the Notch receptor. They associate with a RING (really interesting new gene) family E3 ubiquitin ligase, either Neuralized (Neur) or Mindbomb 1 (Mib1), as a prerequisite to signaling. Although Neur and Mib1 stimulate internalization of DSL ligands, it is not known how ubiquitylation contributes to signaling.