CNS Genes and their Roles in Drosophila Midline Glial Development (2014)

Undergraduates: Rachel Tyson, Joseph Pearson

Faculty Advisor: Stephen Crews
Department: Biology

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Glial cells that reside at the midline of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster¿s central nervous system (CNS) have many important functions, including guiding and supporting neurons. Studying Drosophila midline glia will inform research on vertebrate nervous system development, because Drosophila glia are in many ways similar to glial cells in vertebrates. Since numerous D. melanogaster genes are related to those in humans, knowledge of fly gene functions may be applied to the study of human genetic disorders. Some mutant fly strains have altered midline glial development, including defects in midline glial migration and wrapping neurons. Mutant flies may have glial cells that have moved to the wrong location, or have unprotected neurons that are not properly covered by glia. My research was focused on identifying the genes that are affected in these mutants, then finding out what roles these genes have in midline glial development. My genes of interest were CG9336, CG14968, Cpr78Cb, and tap. All of these genes are expressed in midline glia, except tap, which is expressed in midline cells adjacent to the glia. Essentially, the goal of the work is to test whether these four genes are required for midline development, such that the loss of the genes cause the mutant phenotypes. My question for this ongoing project: How do these genes and their protein products function, and how are they responsible for the correct development of Drosophila midline glia?