University of Cambridge
The localisation and role of Sidekick at apical vertices in Drosophila epithelial morphogenesis
Abstract
dc:description.abstractDuring animal development, epithelial tissues undergo morphogenesis in order to build tissues, organs and body structure. A key driving force in epithelial morphogenesis is cell rearrangement, which results from the remodelling of cell-cell contacts. In epithelia, cell-cell contacts are connected via vertices, where 3 or more cells meet. It is unknown whether cell vertices play an active role in regulating cell rearrangement, however recent work from a number of model systems has suggested that cell vertices are important sites for sensing and regulating tissue tension and providing geometric cues for morphogenetic cell behaviours. I have used the Drosophila model system to investigate the behaviour and role of vertices in epithelial morphogenesis, using as an entry point a newly discovered marker of epithelial vertices, the Immunoglobulin-superfamily domain protein Sidekick. I have characterised the localisation of Sidekick tagged with YFP in a number of Drosophila epithelial tissues and found that in most epithelial tissues, Sidekick-YFP localises to vertices at the level of adherens junctions. Using super-resolution microscopy, I investigated the localisation of Sidekick-YFP during germband extension in the early embryo and found that Sidekick-YFP forms string-like structures at cell vertices at the level of adherens junctions, indicating that large multi-protein complexes containing Sidekick define a novel cortical domain in Drosophila epithelia. Through characterisation of a null allele of sidekick in Drosophila early embryos using both manual and automated large-scale quantitative analysis, I have found that tissue geometry, cell adhesion and morphogenetic cell behaviours are abnormal in the absence of sidekick. Together, my work shows that Sidekick at apical vertices is a novel regulator of epithelial morphogenesis.
Degree
thesis:*- Name dc:type.qualificationname
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Level dc:type.qualificationlevel
- Doctoral
- Grantor dc:publisher.institution
- University of Cambridge
- Year dc:date.issued
- 2018
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Finegan, Tara May
- Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
-
- Sanson, Benedicte
Subjects
dc:subject × 4Rights
dc:rightsIdentifiers
dc:identifier.*- Author Identifier
- 0000-0003-0801-9577
- OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/274873