Glypican Dally Displays Embryonic Lethality
Hope Varela Gillman, Nina Nicole Marcelo
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Blake Riggs
Cell division is essential for the development of multicellular organisms and is driven by the asymmetric partitioning of cell fate determinants. Proper localization of these determinants is critical for the formation of complex tissues and organs, including the central nervous system (CNS) of Drosophila melanogaster, an excellent model organism to understand how cells are organized and partitioned during cell division. Glypicans are heparan sulfate proteoglycans attached to the plasma membrane via a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchor. Through heparan sulfate chains, they function as co-receptors for growth factors and morphogens, regulating signaling pathways that control cell proliferation and differentiation. Previous work in the Riggs lab demonstrated that the integral membrane protein Jagunal is necessary for asymmetric division of the endoplasmic reticulum during mitosis. Dally (division abnormally delayed), a glypican, was identified as a genetic interactor of Jagunal, suppressing the Jagn-RNAi rough eye phenotype. This project investigates the lethality of homozygous Dally mutants in Drosophila. Results revealed that Dally homozygotes are lethal during embryogenesis. To determine whether the allele is null or hypomorphic, RNA extraction followed by RT-qPCR will be performed to assess gene expression levels. These findings will enhance our understanding of cell division and neurogenesis.