Browsing by Subject "Drosophila."
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Item The role of kinesin heavy chain in Drosophila photoreceptor development.(2011-05-12T15:39:28Z) League, Garrett P.; Nam, Sang-Chul.; Biology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Biology.In developing Drosophila photoreceptors a stabilized microtubule structure was discovered and its presence was linked to polarity protein localization defects caused by mutations in the microtubule-severing protein Spastin and the centrosome core protein Centrosomin. It was therefore hypothesized that the microtubules may provide trafficking routes for the polarity proteins during photoreceptor morphogenesis. This study has examined whether kinesin heavy chain (Khc), a subunit of the microtubule-based motor kinesin-1, is essential in polarity protein localization in developing photoreceptors. After finding a strong genetic interaction between crumbs (crb) and khc, loss-of-function and gain-of-function analyses revealed progressive reductions in both the Crb and adherens junction (AJ) domains and an increase in the Crb domain, respectively. Furthermore, the khc mutation also led to similar progressive defects in the stabilized microtubule structures, strongly suggesting that Khc is essential for microtubule structure and Crb localization during distal to proximal rhabdomere elongation in Drosophila pupal photoreceptor development.Item The role of spectrin in Drosophila photoreceptor development.(2008-10-01T16:14:11Z) Chen, Tony W.; Nam, Sang-Chul.; Biology.; Baylor University. Dept. of Biology.Spectrin is a cytoskeletal protein that interacts with the plasma membrane, forming a scaffolding and playing an important role in maintenance of plasma membrane integrity and cytoskeletal structure. In Drosophila, spectrin is composed of 3 subunits: α-spectrin, β-spectrin, and βH-spectrin. The interaction between them is important in generating the different polarized membranes in the cell. This study identified the specific effects of spectrin on Drosophila photoreceptor development. In fruit flies the mosaic technique can be used to express both the mutant and the wild-type tissue in a single eye. The mosaic eyes were dissected, fixed, and mounted onto a slide and analyzed using confocal microscopy. Specific roles of α-spectrin, β-spectrin, and βH-spectrin in photoreceptor development were identified and analyzed. This analysis can lead to the identification of the functions of spectrin in photoreceptor development, and to the potential function of spectrin in vertebrate eye development and in causing certain retinal diseases.