The Role of CG9650 in Drosophila Muscle Formation

Myoblasts will either continue to proliferate, or will differentiate into myotubes in order to generate muscles during the development of an organism. CG9650 is a Drosophila gene that is believed to play a role in specifying the fate of myoblasts. It is the aim of this study to elucidate the function of CG9650 in this developmental process. In order to address this query we observed the influence of this gene on the architecture of skeletal muscles. Utilizing tropomyosin antibody stains on late stage embryos overexpressing CG9650, severe muscle deformations were apparent, supporting a role for this gene in muscle development. To assess the ability of protein produced from CG9650 to adhere to the known binding site of the mammalian ortholog bcl11a, electrophoretic mobility shift assays were used. Resulting from the assays was evidence of the protein’s ability to bind to DNA, however the specificity of the interaction still remains to be determined.  Attempting to determine a path of interaction for CG9650, dap (da capo) was determined to be a potential target. Turning to in situ hybridization of late stage embryos with overexpression of CG9650, decreased levels of dap were observed, suggesting that CG9650 is a repressor of DAP expression. This study will attempt to further define the function of the cellular mechanisms that specify muscle cell fate through the activity of CG9650. Due to the high conservation of these mechanisms from Drosophila to humans, this study could yield insight into muscle developmental mechanisms in humans.