Gene Regulation during the Development of Drosophila CNS Midline Cells
Event details
| Date | 30.05.2013 |
| Hour | 10:15 › 11:15 |
| Speaker |
Prof. Patricia A. Estes, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC (USA) Bio: I study how the central nervous system (CNS) is generated during development, using the Drosophila CNS midline cells as a model. The central nervous system is an extensive communication system consisting of two cell types: neurons and glia. For neurons and glia to function 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 Drosophila CNS that is an excellent experimental model for identifying genes required for the development and function of cells within this system. My research focuses on midline cells that are centrally located within the fly CNS 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 during their growth. In addition, they have many functional similarities with their vertebrate counterparts (floorplate cells of the spinal cord) in the way they signal to and guide axons during their growth. |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Midline cells of Drosophila are centrally located within the embryonic nervous system and they signal to and organize axons using similar signaling molecules, in a manner analogous to floor plate cells within the spinal cord of vertebrates. Because of its simplicity, the fly midline is an excellent model for studying axon guidance as well as transcription factors and signaling pathways involved in nervous system development. By the end of embryogenesis, the mature Drosophila midline consists of a small number of glia and neurons per segment: two glial and six neural subtypes. To understand how midline cells with different functions are generated during development, we study how genes are regulated within these cells. The midline is particularly valuable for these studies because the expression pattern of approximately 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 midline genes have also been identified and their function is under investigation. These experiments address how specific cells form and the central nervous system is constructed during development.