Steroid hormone-induced wingless ligands tune female intestinal size in Drosophila

Female reproduction comes at great expense to energy metabolism compensated by extensive organ adaptations including intestinal size. Upon mating, endocrine signals orchestrate a 30% net increase of absorptive epithelium. Mating increases production of the steroid hormone Ecdysone released by the Drosophila ovaries that stimulates intestinal stem cell (ISC) divisions. Here, we uncover the transcription factor crooked legs (crol) as an intraepithelial coordinator of Ecdysone-induced ISC mitosis....