Investigating the role of a gene suspected to be part of the hedgehog signaling pathway in Drosophila

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

6 pages

Format :

.pdf

Published date :

01/15/2009

Category :

Science & technology

Sub category :

Medical studies

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Summary :

Introduction.
The hedgehog signalling pathway.
An active signalling protein.
Signals through a currently obscure scheme to a microtubule bound complex.
The target genes.
The possibility of a physical interaction between Smo and Ptc leading to a conformational change.
1. The transport of Smo into intracellular vesicles.
2. The binding of an ihnibitory molecule to Smo mediated by Ptc.
3. Evidences of an Hh signalling pathway non-dependant on Ptc.
Unelucidated part of the pathway.
Conclusion.
Bibliography.

Abstract

Though hedgehog (hh) has many homologues in vertebrates that signal through the same pathway, involving homologue proteins involved in drosophila, leading to different effects on the organism (though all imply the morphogen feature of hedgehog), we will focus on its signalling pathway in the latter organism. Hh is known to be one of the segment polarity genes expressed during the late phase of embryo development in drosophila melanogaster. The segment polarity genes, as the name suggests, are the genes encoding proteins that will set up the anterio-posterior polarity of the segments, developmental units of drosophila embryos, once cellularization has occurred. hedgehog is a secreted protein that will activate a signal transduction cascade once bound to its receptor. We will first see what is nowadays known about the hedgehog signaling pathway, including what happens in the hedgehog protein (Hh) and some target genes, though both aspects are not related to the signaling pathway, but are important to understand such a blur event in the patterning of future adult fly. Then we will think about ways to investigate the role of a gene we suspect to be part of the pathway, considering the level of its possible action in this pathway