Drosophila Axis Determination
Many genes that determine our own axis are ac4ve in drosophila
Drosophila as Model Organisms
- Rela4vely short life cycle and genera4onal turnover
- Large numbers of offspring
- Well characterized gene4cally
o Understand how to set up mutagenesis screens
o Easy to map muta4ons
o Isola4on of mutants is rela4vely easy
- Easy to maintain in a lab
- Easy to gain ethics clearance
- Mul4cellular organism à good for developmental studies
o Different axes
o Organ development
- Landmark features that allow for mutant iden4fica4on defec4ve in anterior vs
posterior and dorsal vs ventral
o External exoskeleton structures are built from underlying epidermal cells
§ Hairs, den4cles, indenta4ons, cu4cle structures
§ Dorsal surface = covered in hairs
§ Ventral = dis4nct den4cle belt for each segment
How to iden4fy and analyze mutant gene4c makeup:
- Characteriza4on of mutant phenotypes
o Important for characterizing which structures are affected by a par4cular
muta4on
- Nucleo4de sequence of clone
o Subsequent determina4on of amino acid sequence à informa4on on protein
func4on
- Spa4al and temporal paPerns of expression at RNA level à in situ hybridiza4on
o At protein level à immunocytochemistry
- Gene4c experiments à how genes interact
Drosophila and the animal kingdom
- Humans ≠ new genes compared to fruit flies
- Drosophila à 1 gene
- Humans à mul4gene families for the drosophila equivalent
Development in Drosophila
- Takes 24 hours for a fer4lized egg to develop into a segmented fully differen4ated
maggot
- Oocyte matura4on in females
- Fer4liza4on in uterus
- Fer4lized eggs are laid
o Syncy4al blastoderm (13 divisions) à first 4 hours of development
§ No cell membranes separa4ng mul4ple nuclei
, § A]er 7th division, 15 nuclei to the posterior of the pole and rest of 128
nuclei migrate to anterior pole à become pole cells (become germ
cells of the embryo)
o Cellular blastoderm (a]er 13th cell division)
§ Each nucleus is surrounded by a cell membrane
o Segmenta4on
§ During gastrula4on will see forma4on of cephalic furrow that will be
where the head forms
- Eggs hatch
- 1st instar larva
- 2nd instar larva
- 3rd instar larva
- Pupa
- Adult fly
, Early Development Cycle (first 4 hours)
- 13 cell divisions occur within a common cytoplasm
- 9th division à appearance of pole cells in the posterior (landmark in development)
o Nuclei migrate to periphery of embryo: syncy4al blastoderm
§ Common cytoplasm
§ TFs at a local source can diffuse and all the nuclei can receive the
same signal
th
- A]er 13 division à cell membranes ingress between nuclei to form cellular
blastoderm
Establishment of anterior/posterior vs dorsal/ventral
- Bilateral symmetry
- Key structures for anterior vs posterior
o Acron (head à forms from cephalic furrow that marks gastrula4on)
§ Different segments
• CL, PC, O, D, Mx, Mi, Lb
o 3 thoracic segments
o 8 abdominal segments
o Telson
o Anal plate
o Filzkoper at posterior
- Can iden1fy structures based on external cu1cle structure, pa9erns of bristles and den1cles
and internal organiza1on
- Along dorsal ventral axis:
o Mesoderm, ventral ectoderm, dorsal ectoderm and amnioserosa
§ Mesoderm à internal so@ 1ssue (muscle and connec1ve 1ssue)
§ Ventral ectoderm à neural 1ssue and ventral epidermis
§ Dorsal ectoderm --. Epidermis
§ Amnioserosa à extra-embryonic membrane that is sloughed off during
embryonic development
Iden4fica4on of mutants defec4ve in anterior-posterior paPerning – maternal effect and
zygo4c effect genes
- Maternal effect = genes expressed in mother, mRNA transcripts passed into
developing oocyte and transcribed in nurse cells in the ovary of the mother
o Phenotype of embryo dependent on maternal genotype
§ Muta4ons will be picked up by embryo
§ Phenotype is independent of paternal genotype
§ Recessive muta,on only produces a mutant when mother = mutant
homozygote
§ Bicoid, nanos
- Zygo4cally ac4ng = genes expressed in developing embryo
o Kruppel, fushi tarazu, even-skipped
o Recessive muta4ons in zygo4c genes à express if mutant homozygote
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller erinsnotes. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.70. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.