Pathfinding of Pioneering Neurons in the Wing Imaginal Disc

这项研究的目的是研究调节生长锥与基底突起黏附的分子。所使用的程序将首先在适当的发育阶段产生针对翼上皮细胞的单抗。下一步，将对这些抗体与抗原结合的能力进行筛选，这些抗原在暴露的上皮细胞基底面上沿着PD轴呈梯度分布。这些抗原将代表可能为轴突引导提供方向性线索的候选者。最后，将利用抗体的Fab片段进行体外功能分析，以确定抗原候选在轴突发现中的作用。通过将Manduca与其同类的全变态昆虫果蝇相结合，对Manduca形态发生过程的研究最终可以扩展到分子遗传水平。这项研究与首席研究员的长期目标很好地结合在一起，即定义形态发生，因为它发生在原位，在生物组织的所有水平上，最终导致在分子方面描述与形态发生相关的细胞-底物和细胞-细胞相互作用。

The aim of this research is to investigate the molecules that mediate adhesion of growth cones to basal processes. The procedures used will involve first raising monoclonal antibodies against wing epithelial cells at the appropriate stage of development. Next these antibodies will be screened for their ability to bind to antigens showing a graded distribution along the PD axis on exposed basal surfaces of epithelial cells. These antigens will represent candidates that could provide directional cues for axonal guidance. Finally, functional assays for the role of antigenic candidates in axonal pathfinding will be carried out in vitro with Fab fragments of antibodies. The study of morphogenetic processes in Manduca can eventually be extended to the molecular genetic level by using Manduca in tandem with its fellow holometabolous insect, Drosophila. This research allies well with the Principal Investigator's long range goals of defining morphogenesis, as it occurs in situ, at all levels of biological organization, ultimately leading to a description in molecular terms of cell-substratum and cell-cell interactions associated with morphogenesis.