Screening for genes that underlie organs’ 3D structure formation using fruit fly as a model organism

Abstract

Organ formation involves dynamic cell shape changes, adaptations and responses to signaling molecules. Despite numerous studies on the involvement of various cellular structures and signaling pathways in organogenesis, current knowledge regarding the genetic control over dynamic tissue morphogenesis remains limited. The pupal wing of Drosophila melanogaster has been shown to include cellular structures and pathways common to the organogenesis of other animals. This project utilized Drosophila wings to study specific candidate genes associated with organogenesis and their contributions to final wing development. The screening of genes of interest has been carried out by employing tissue- and stage-specific RNAi-mediated gene knockdown methods. The results show that seven candidate genes, which have been characterized as regulating cellular homeostasis and structures, play important roles in wing morphogenesis and vein formation. Furthermore, most RNAi-mediated wing phenotypes resemble the loss-of-function phenotypes of conserved signaling pathways such as Notch, Wg/Wnt and BMP. Therefore, these observations suggest that candidate genes may regulate conserved signaling pathway during Drosophila wing development.