Friday, October 12, 2012: 8:40 AM
Hall 4E/F (WSCC)
CG9650 is a gene of Drosophila melanogaster that is believed to have a role in specifying the fate of muscle progenitor cells. This study attempts to further define the cellular mechanisms that specify muscle cell fate through the activity of CG9650. Addressing this query, several experimental techniques were utilized to observe the influence of this gene within the D. melanogaster system. Antibody staining was used on late stage embryos overexpressing CG9650, and severe muscle deformations as well as founder cell displacement were observed. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) provided evidence of a binding capacity for CG9650 proteins. To describe a path of interaction for CG9650, dap (da capo) was determined to be a potential target, since embryos with upregulated CG9650 illustrated decreased levels of dap. Our results suggest an influential role of CG9650 in the process of muscle development. Due to the high conservation of these developmental mechanisms, this study may yield insight into mechanisms of muscle development within humans.