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118
(Ashburner, Golic et al. 1989). With all these advantages being considered, Drosophila
is probably the most important model organism for molecular biology and genetics
research. Although I haven’t worked on any other model organisms in my Ph.D. career,
I am quite confident that Drosophila will continue to be the favorite lab animal that
biologists love to work with.
The genetic design of PdL mutagenesis is relative simple and straightforward. However,
in order to obtain massive amount of mutants, a very large scale genetic cross must be
set up. It took more than 4 months for 3 full-time and 3 part-time researchers to obtain
around 20,000 mutants. After multiple rounds of screening, tests, and retests, the two
most promising genes were selected for further research. Gene “magu” (originally
named CG2264) was able to extend Drosophila lifespan when induced by the ubiquitous
driver rtTA(3)E2 or by the motor neuron specific driver D42, or the gut driver C204. It
has been reported that the magu protein interacts with the protein Slam (Giot, Bader et
al. 2003), which gives us some insight about potential molecular functions of this novel
gene. Slam is a developmental regulator that affects polarized membrane growth during
oogenesis, or the cleavage of the fly embryo, to be more specific (Lecuit, Samanta et al.
2002). Another report, based on microarray data, suggests that magu expression
correlates with Dorsal and Toll, the two major transcription factors involved in dorso-ventral
axis formation in the Drosophila embryo (Stathopoulos, Van Drenth et al. 2002).
These data and interactions may imply that magu does regulate the oogenesis process.
Another research article suggests that magu is enriched in the very tip of the testes.
Object Description
| Title | Characterization of Drosophila longevity and fecundity regulating genes |
| Author | Li, Yishi |
| Author email | yishili@usc.edu; yishili@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Molecular & Computational Biology |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2008-08-19 |
| Date submitted | 2008 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2008-10-31 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Tower, John |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Finkel, Steven E. Aparicio, Oscar Martin Longo, Valter D Comai, Lucio |
| Abstract | The regulation of Drosophila melanogaster longevity and fecundity involves many factors. Longevity is governed by oxidative stress, stem cell loss, dietary restriction, the insulin/IGF-1 pathway, and other factors. Fecundity is also regulated by multiple tissues and factors, including the germline stem cells and stem cell niche, the fat body, yolk proteins, and sex peptides. The fecundity of wild type female Drosophila gradually declines during aging, suggesting a common pathway regulating longevity and fecundity machinery. Since both mechanisms involve multiple factors, sorting through the Gordian’s knot is a formidable task. Using a PdL mutagenesis approach, I screened for a specific phenotype in thousands of independent mutant strains to examine both regulatory networks simultaneously. Two novel genes, magu and hebe, were identified and characterized to regulate longevity and fecundity. While Drosophila lifespan was extended upon the induction of these genes, fecundity increase requires that the gene induction be in an ideal range to show the expected phenotypic change. I also performed several other projects, including studying the lifespan extension effect of dIAP2, characterization of a Drosophila gut driver strain, and intra-abdominal RNAi injection in adult Drosophila. These projects provided us insight on longevity, fecundity, anti-apoptosis, stem cell biology, RNAi and other aspects of Drosophila research. In sum, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model organism for molecular biology and genetics study, will continue to contribute to the scientific community. |
| Keyword | Drosophila; longevity; fecundity |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m1735 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Li, Yishi |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Li-2382 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume44/etd-Li-2382.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 128 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | 118 (Ashburner, Golic et al. 1989). With all these advantages being considered, Drosophila is probably the most important model organism for molecular biology and genetics research. Although I haven’t worked on any other model organisms in my Ph.D. career, I am quite confident that Drosophila will continue to be the favorite lab animal that biologists love to work with. The genetic design of PdL mutagenesis is relative simple and straightforward. However, in order to obtain massive amount of mutants, a very large scale genetic cross must be set up. It took more than 4 months for 3 full-time and 3 part-time researchers to obtain around 20,000 mutants. After multiple rounds of screening, tests, and retests, the two most promising genes were selected for further research. Gene “magu” (originally named CG2264) was able to extend Drosophila lifespan when induced by the ubiquitous driver rtTA(3)E2 or by the motor neuron specific driver D42, or the gut driver C204. It has been reported that the magu protein interacts with the protein Slam (Giot, Bader et al. 2003), which gives us some insight about potential molecular functions of this novel gene. Slam is a developmental regulator that affects polarized membrane growth during oogenesis, or the cleavage of the fly embryo, to be more specific (Lecuit, Samanta et al. 2002). Another report, based on microarray data, suggests that magu expression correlates with Dorsal and Toll, the two major transcription factors involved in dorso-ventral axis formation in the Drosophila embryo (Stathopoulos, Van Drenth et al. 2002). These data and interactions may imply that magu does regulate the oogenesis process. Another research article suggests that magu is enriched in the very tip of the testes. |
