Novel functions of the Drosophila Hox gene Ultrabithorax in central nervous system development

了解中枢神经系统(CNS)的形态和功能多样性，以及这种多样性是如何在发育过程中产生的，是生物学中的基本挑战之一。同源异型基因编码一类重要的转录因子，调节沿身体前后轴线的细胞多样性。然而，这些基因在中枢神经系统发育过程中发挥的功能在很大程度上是未知的。果蝇是发育生物学研究中应用广泛的模式生物。在拟议的项目中，将通过RNAi介导的Ubx基因在分化神经元的不同亚群中特异性地下调Ubx，来研究同源基因Ultrabithorax在果蝇胚胎中枢神经系统分化神经元中的功能。此外，在之前进行的酵母双杂交筛选中确定的潜在Ubx相互作用伙伴将得到进一步验证，并将研究与Ubx相互作用对中枢神经系统发育的意义。

Understanding the morphological and functional diversity of the central nervous system (CNS), which allows fulfillment of diverse regional requirements for control of locomotion, feeding, respiration and reproduction, and how this diversity arises during development is one of the fundamental challenges in biology. Homeotic genes encode one important class of transcription factors that regulate cell diversity along the anterior-posterior body axis. However, the functions that these genes exert during development of the CNS are largely unknown. The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is a widely used model organism for research in developmental biology. In the proposed project, functions of the homeotic gene Ultrabithorax in differentiating neurons of the Drosophila embryonic CNS will be investigated by means of an RNAi-mediated knock-down of Ubx specifically in various subsets of differentiating neurons. In addition, potential Ubx interaction partners identified in a previously performed yeast-two-hybrid screen will be verified further and the significance of the interaction with Ubx for CNS development investigated.