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SUMMARY:Gene Regulation during the Development of Drosophila CNS Midline C
 ells
DTSTART:20130530T101500
DTEND:20130530T111500
DTSTAMP:20260501T205746Z
UID:9a03f00038696a939bc4f36fc516247b660426efc536aa20c0ce107d
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Patricia A. Estes\, North Carolina State University\, Ra
 leigh\, NC (USA)\nBio: I study how the central nervous system (CNS) is gen
 erated during development\, using the Drosophila CNS midline cells as a mo
 del. The central nervous system is an extensive communication system consi
 sting of two cell types: neurons and glia. For neurons and glia to functio
 n within this system\, they must express the appropriate battery of genes 
 and make connections with other cells. Dissecting how genes are regulated 
 within the various cell types provides information on how this complicated
  communication network is established. The research focuses on the Drosoph
 ila CNS that is an excellent experimental model for identifying genes requ
 ired for the development and function of cells within this system.\nMy res
 earch focuses on midline cells that are centrally located within the fly C
 NS and split it in half. Midline cells differentiate into a diverse set of
  neurons and glia and provide many signals to guide the paths of axons dur
 ing their growth. In addition\, they have many functional similarities wit
 h their vertebrate counterparts (floorplate cells of the spinal cord) in t
 he way they signal to and guide axons during their growth.\nMidline cells 
 of Drosophila are centrally located within the embryonic nervous system an
 d they signal to and organize axons using similar signaling molecules\, in
  a manner analogous to floor plate cells within the spinal cord of vertebr
 ates. Because of its simplicity\, the fly midline is an excellent model fo
 r studying axon guidance as well as transcription factors and signaling pa
 thways involved in nervous system development. By the end of embryogenesis
 \, the mature Drosophila midline consists of a small number of glia and ne
 urons per segment: two glial and six neural subtypes. To understand how mi
 dline cells with different functions are generated during development\, we
  study how genes are regulated within these cells. The midline is particul
 arly valuable for these studies because the expression pattern of approxim
 ately 300 genes has been characterized within the different cell types. In
  addition\, over one thousand enhancers that drive expression in specific 
 midline subtypes have recently been identified. Dissection of a subset of 
 midline enhancers has led to the identification of common motifs that bind
  transcription factors to activate or repress transcription in these cells
 . In addition\, motifs consisting of simple sequence repeats specific to m
 idline genes have also been identified and their function is under investi
 gation. These experiments address how specific cells form and the central 
 nervous system is constructed during development.
LOCATION:SV1717a http://map.epfl.ch/?room=sv1717a
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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