Control of Embryonic Axis Formation in Drosophila Trudi Schupbach, Febuaryl 2009 Princeton University and a Howard Hughes Investigator.

Lecture Overview Part 1 How do complex multicellular organisms develop from single celled eggs with a single nucleus? We study this question in the fruitfly, Drosophila. In these insects, as in many other organisms, the major body plan is predetermined during oogenesis, or egg development. In the first part of the lecture, I will give an introduction to oogenesis in Drosophila, and the techniques we use to find genes that are responsible for determining the major axes of the egg and embryo. Interestingly, our analysis revealed that this process requires cell to cell communication between the oocyte and the surrounding follicle cells. It involves a signaling molecule, Gurken, which provides a localized signal from the oocyte to the follicle cells and ultimately sets up both the anterior-posterior as well as the dorso-ventral axis of the egg.

Part 1: Establishing the Axes of the Egg in Drosophila Click image above to start seminar in 320x240 format Click here to view in larger 640x480 format*   QuickTime 7 Required    *640x480 System Requirements (there may be a few seconds delay before seminars start) Downloads in alternative formats: (To Save, Right Click a link below and select "Save Target/Link As") QuickTime     MP4     iPod/iPhone Video PowerPoint Slides Format Descriptions Download Accelerator/Resume Broken Downloads Software

Part 2: grk RNA localization   Part 3: Gurken Gradient and Follicle Cell Response Speaker Bio    Related Articles