Antagonizing Signaling in a Drosophila Dorsal Closure Model

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The high degree of conservation of fundamental biological processes across all animals, coupled with the broad repertoire of fly genetic approaches makes the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster a uniquely powerful system for understanding a broad range of developmental processes. In this study, genetic methods are employed to identify, clone, and characterize genes required for fruit fly dorsal closure. Dorsal closure is the developmental process by which a cell sheet completely encases a developing fruit fly embryo. The dorsal closure process is analogous to tube formation, with the edges of the epithelial sheet meeting and fusing at the dorsal midline.Virtually all of the molecules essential for the changes in cell shape and position that drive dorsal closure are conserved, and they are required for a variety closure processes in all vertebrates. These conserved processes include eyelid and neural tube fusion, as well as wound healing. One's ability to dissect and characterize dorsal closure in the experimentally tractable fruit fly, therefore, provides a powerful system to elucidate a fundamental development process.The foci of the studies described here are two Drosophila proteins that were recently identified as being critical for dorsal closure: Raw (a novel protein) and Mummy (a UDP]Nacetylglucosamine pyrophosphorylase). Given the conservation of these developmental pathways, these proteins are likely important for neural tube closure as well as for dorsal closure. Thus, the definition of the roles that Raw and Mummy play in the developing fruit fly facilitates identification of the molecular events necessary for key developmental events.This project will provide undergraduates and high school students from the community with 'hands-on' research training opportunities. In the past this research has been highlighted at the University of Utah's Museum of Natural History, as well as additional community venues. Teaching and community outreach remains a high priority for the future.