A picket fence function for adherens junctions in epithelial cell polarity

Adherens junctions are a defining feature of all epithelial cells, providing cell-cell adhesion and contractile ring formation that is essential for cell and tissue morphology. In Drosophila, adherens junctions are concentrated between the apical and basolateral plasma membrane domains, defined by aPKC-Par6-Baz and Lgl/Dlg/Scrib, respectively. Whether adherens junctions contribute to apical-basal polarization itself has been unclear because neuroblasts exhibit apical-basal polarization of aPKC-Par6-Baz and Lgl in the absence of adherens junctions. Here we show that, upon disruption of adherens junctions in epithelial cells, apical polarity determinants such as aPKC can still segregate from basolateral Lgl, but lose their sharp boundaries and also overlap with Dlg and Scrib – similar to neuroblasts. In addition, control of apical versus basolateral domain size is lost, along with control of cell shape, in the absence of adherens junctions. Manipulating the levels of apical Par3/Baz or basolateral Lgl polarity determinants in experiments and in computer simulations confirms that adherens junctions provide a ‘picket fence’ diffusion barrier that restricts the spread of polarity determinants along the membrane to enable precise domain size control. Movement of adherens junctions in response to mechanical forces during morphogenetic change thus enables spontaneous adjustment of apical versus basolateral domain size as an emergent property of the polarising system.