Murray State University

Using the fruit fly Drosophila to learn germline stem cell biology

Grade Level at Time of Presentation

Junior

Major

Biology

Minor

Chemistry

Institution 24-25

Murray State University

KY House District #

1

KY Senate District #

1

Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Abstract

Significant progress has been made in the field of stem cell biology. In particular, biomedical applications using stem cells coupled with powerful genome editing to correct the devastating genetic disorders are likely to revolutionize medicine and greatly improve human health. However, we are still lacking the detailed molecular knowledge on what makes a stem cell, and how the stem cell development is controlled to give rise a specific cell type, tissue or eventually the whole organism. In our research, we used a model organism, the fruit fly Drosophila, to understand the molecular mechanisms of stem cell maintenance and development, which should provide insights into stem cell biology in other organisms including humans. Specifically, we focused on the role of large protein, referred to as Tudor, which is crucial for the development of germline stem cells – a special class of stem cells responsible for production of egg and sperm, and therefore, the entire organism in the next generation. We hypothesized that this protein has several modules involved in interaction with other molecules during the assembly of small organelles in stem cells, which are required for stem cell development. Using genome-editing approaches and state-of-the art fluorescent microscopy, we analyzed the effect of mutations in the Tudor modules (Tudor domains). Interestingly, we found the mutations caused the significant decrease in the number of germline stem cells during early embryogenesis. Our research identified the important molecular determinants of germline stem cell formation and suggested that several poorly characterized Tudor domains are crucial for the assembly of stem cell organelles. Since Tudor-domain proteins are present in human germline, our study is likely to shed light on the molecular aspects of germline stem cell development in humans.

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Using the fruit fly Drosophila to learn germline stem cell biology

Significant progress has been made in the field of stem cell biology. In particular, biomedical applications using stem cells coupled with powerful genome editing to correct the devastating genetic disorders are likely to revolutionize medicine and greatly improve human health. However, we are still lacking the detailed molecular knowledge on what makes a stem cell, and how the stem cell development is controlled to give rise a specific cell type, tissue or eventually the whole organism. In our research, we used a model organism, the fruit fly Drosophila, to understand the molecular mechanisms of stem cell maintenance and development, which should provide insights into stem cell biology in other organisms including humans. Specifically, we focused on the role of large protein, referred to as Tudor, which is crucial for the development of germline stem cells – a special class of stem cells responsible for production of egg and sperm, and therefore, the entire organism in the next generation. We hypothesized that this protein has several modules involved in interaction with other molecules during the assembly of small organelles in stem cells, which are required for stem cell development. Using genome-editing approaches and state-of-the art fluorescent microscopy, we analyzed the effect of mutations in the Tudor modules (Tudor domains). Interestingly, we found the mutations caused the significant decrease in the number of germline stem cells during early embryogenesis. Our research identified the important molecular determinants of germline stem cell formation and suggested that several poorly characterized Tudor domains are crucial for the assembly of stem cell organelles. Since Tudor-domain proteins are present in human germline, our study is likely to shed light on the molecular aspects of germline stem cell development in humans.