The Drosophila Afadin and ZO-1 homologs Canoe and Polychaetoid act in parallel to maintain epithelial integrity when challenged by adherens junction remodeling

During morphogenesis cells must change shape and move without disrupting tissue integrity. This requires cell-cell junctions to allow dynamic remodeling while resisting force generated by the actomyosin cytoskeleton. Multiple proteins play roles in junctional-cytoskeletal linkage, but the mechanisms by which they act remain unclear. Drosophila Canoe maintains adherens junction-cytoskeletal linkage during gastrulation. Canoe’s mammalian homolog Afadin plays similar roles in cultured cells, working in parallel with ZO-1 proteins, particularly at multicellular junctions. We took these insights back into the fly embryo, exploring how cells maintain epithelial integrity when challenged by adherens junction remodeling during germband extension and dorsal closure. We found Canoe helps cells maintain junctional-cytoskeletal linkage when challenged by the junctional remodeling inherent in mitosis, cell intercalation and neuroblast invagination, or by forces generated by the actomyosin cable at the leading edge. However, even in the absence of Canoe many cells retain epithelial integrity. This is explained by a parallel role played by the ZO-1 homolog Polychaetoid. In embryos lacking both Canoe and Polychaetoid, cell junctions fail early, with multicellular junctions especially sensitive, leading to widespread loss of epithelial integrity. Our data suggest Canoe and Polychaetoid stabilize Bazooka/Par3 at cell-cell junctions, helping maintain balanced apical contractility and tissue integrity.