Stander Symposium abstract book - University of Dayton

POSTER SESSION 1
similar phenotypes in LOF of defective proventriculus (dve), which encodes a homeobox protein. We investigated if dve plays a role in axial patterning
during early eye development. We found that Gain-of-Function (GOF) of dve results in suppression of eye by downregulating Retinal Determination
(RD) genes. We found that dve plays an important role in dorsal eye fate selection during early eye development. In the eye imaginal
disc, Dve expression is restricted to a small region anterior to the Morphogenetic Furrow (MF) on the dorsal eye margin. This expression domain
of Dve also overlaps with Wingless (Wg), which is expressed at the lateral margins of the developing third instar eye discs. Interestingly, we found
that dve is required to maintain a Wg morphogen gradient in the developing Drosophila eye field to promote DV patterning of the Drosophila eye.
Here we present insights into the novel role of dve in dorsal eye fate selection in the Drosophila eye.
Domain specific E3 ubiquitin ligase mediated Wingless degradation promotes Dorso-
Ventral lineage in the developing Drosophila eye
Presenter(s): Meghana Tare
Advisor(s): Amit Singh
Biology - Graduate Research
During early eye development, axial patterning transforms a single sheet of organ primordium cells to a three-dimensional organ by generating
Dorso-ventral (DV), antero-posterior (AP), and proximo-distal (PD) axes. Drosophila eye anlagen initiates with a ventral ground state on which the
dorsal eye fate is established, which requires a large number of eye specific proteins. Members of the Notch signaling pathway, Lobe (L; PRAS40
in vertebrates) and Serrate (Ser; Jagged-1 in vertebrates), play an important role in ventral eye growth and development. Loss of function of L/
Ser results in loss of ventral half of the eye. In a genetic modifier screen, cullin-4 (cul-4) was identified as a modifier of L mutant phenotype in the
ventral eye. cul-4 encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase - an enzyme that ligates ubiquitin molecules to the proteins targeted for degradation. However,
the pathway through which cul-4 exerts its effects on L is not known. Using Drosophila eye as a model system, we characterized the functions of
cul4, and its interactions withL using loss and gain of function approaches. Our studies suggest that cul-4 acts downstream of L, and promotes cell
survival in the ventral region of the developing eye by targeting Wingless (Wg) signaling components for degradation. Here we present a novel
mechanism of DV specific ubiquitin mediated protein degradation that promotes and maintains dorsal ventral (DV) lineage in the developing
early eye field.
Effects of Dietary Regimen on Lifespan and Fecundity of Blow Fly, Lucilia sericata
(Diptera: Calliphoridae)
Presenter(s): Allissa M Blystone, Ryan M Huttinger, Connor Ratycz
Advisor(s): Karolyn M Hansen
Biology - Independent Research
The green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, is a forensically important organism that is used to determine post-mortem interval (PMI) in deceased
individuals. Insect colonization and species succession on decaying organic material are well-characterized events with Lucilia sericata being
one of the first species to colonize. Forensic methods for determination of PMI using insect developmental stages have been developed based on
laboratory methods for culture of insect species but there is no standard method for laboratory culture of Lucilia with respect to diet. This study
focuses on the role of diet in the development of the blow fly, Lucilia sericata. Flies were reared using three common laboratory dietary regimens:
1. Honey-Water and Water, 2. Liver and Water, and 3. Granular Sucrose and Water. For each dietary treatment, three replicate cages of 15 male
flies and 15 female flies were run simultaneously. Developmental metrics were recorded (survivorship, number of eggs oviposited per event, and
number of oviposition events) over the course of the study and data were analyzed to determine which diet was most efficient for fly maintenance
and reproduction. Analyses revealed that flies fed honey-water and water lived an average of 37 days but did not lay any eggs. Flies fed liver and
water lived an average of 22 days and laid an average of 300 eggs per cage. Flies fed sucrose flies lived an average of 30 days, but similar to the
honey-water treatment, no eggs were laid. These results indicate that a protein source is necessary for the female egg production and support the
premise that standard laboratory culture methods are a critical link between establishment of a standard developmental life cycle pattern and
application of life cycle staging in forensic determination of PMI. Future research will focus on refinement of a standard balanced laboratory diet.
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