Identification of tissue-specific genes involved in peroxisome biogenesis or function in Drosophila melanogaster

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Our laboratory studies the processes that are necessary within embryonic cells as they specialize to become part specific tissues within the developing animal. Within cells, small cellular bodies called peroxisomes regulate important processes such as lipid (fat) metabolism and the detoxification of reactive oxygen molecules that can damage other molecules. From studies of organisms such as yeast, that exist as single cells growing in isolation, we know the basic set of approximately twelve genes necessary for peroxisome formation and basic function(s). However, we also know that peroxisomes are present in different amounts and with different functional compositions in the cells that are part of animal tissues. Therefore, there must be more than the twelve basic peroxisome genes involved in the specific regulation of peroxisome formation or function within the cells that form each organ. We will use Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), as a simple genetic model to systematically determine how peroxisome formation is uniquely regulated in animal tissues such as the brain, liver and muscles. There is over one hundred years of scientific precedent using Drosophila to identify and characterize the specialized genes that regulate different cellular aspects of tissue development. Our work has already confirmed that the corresponding basic family of genes important for peroxisomes in yeasts are similarly important for the basic aspects Drosophila peroxisome formation. Our current research program will address two critical questions that will significantly improve our understanding of these critical cellular organelles: 1) How do mutations in Pex genes cause organ-specific defects during early development of a simple animal like fruit flies? 2) What are the genes that regulate peroxisome formation and/or function in specific organs?