Pathfinding of Pioneering Neurons in the Wing Imaginal Disc

本研究的目的是研究介导生长锥与基突粘附的分子。所使用的程序将涉及在适当的发育阶段首先提高针对翅膀上皮细胞的单克隆抗体。接下来，将筛选这些抗体与抗原的结合能力，这些抗原在上皮细胞暴露的基底表面上沿PD轴呈分级分布。这些抗原将代表可能为轴突引导提供方向线索的候选抗原。最后，将使用抗体Fab片段在体外进行候选抗原在轴突寻路中的作用的功能分析。通过将曼杜卡虫与其同属的全变形昆虫果蝇进行串联研究，曼杜卡虫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定义形态发生的长期目标很好地结合在一起，因为它发生在原位，在生物组织的所有水平上，最终导致与形态发生相关的细胞-基质和细胞-细胞相互作用的分子术语描述。

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.