Investigating the cell surface code for compartment boundary formation in Drosophila embryos
type: CreativeWork
description: During animal development, the separation of cells of different identity is crucial for the formation and function of tissues and organs. Tissues are compartmentalised to ensure organisation remains during dynamic processes, such as cell division and cell rearrangement. At Drosophila compartment boundaries, supracellular actomyosin cables mechanically prevent the mixing of cells of different identity between compartments. We know some of the signalling pathways and transcription factors that control actomyosin enrichment at these boundaries. However, the effectors downstream of these signals, such as cell surface receptors, have only begun to be identified. Further, there is generally a poor understanding of how cell identity information is read to promote actomyosin enrichments. Beyond cell segregation, the role of mechanical boundaries during tissue morphogenesis is unclear. In this thesis, I studied the compartmental boundaries, called parasegment boundaries (PSBs), responsible for cell sorting in the early Drosophila embryo. I focused on the role of the PSBs during axis extension at gastrulation, when the boundaries first become mechanically active. With the aim of identifying new cell surface molecules required to recruit actomyosin at PSBs, I undertook an in silico screen using publicly available datasets. I screened numerous resources to identify genes that: i) encode cell surface proteins, ii) are expressed in D-V oriented stripes in the early embryo and iii) are under pair-rule gene network regulation. I then undertook an in situ hybridisation screen to ask which of the candidate genes were expressed in stripes that border PSBs. For this work I took advantage of in situ Hybridisation Chain Reaction (HCR) methods, which allowed me to locate mRNA expression with cellular resolution. I found several genes matching the above criteria and chose to focus on a gene that abuts both odd and even-numbered PSBs throughout germ-band extension, tartan. tartan encodes a …
abstract: During animal development, the separation of cells of different identity is crucial for the formation and function of tissues and organs. Tissues are compartmentalised to ensure organisation remains during dynamic processes, such as cell division and cell rearrangement. At Drosophila compartment boundaries, supracellular actomyosin cables mechanically prevent the mixing of cells of different identity between compartments. We know some of the signalling pathways and transcription factors that control actomyosin enrichment at these boundaries. However, the effectors downstream of these signals, such as cell surface receptors, have only begun to be identified. Further, there is generally a poor understanding of how cell identity information is read to promote actomyosin enrichments. Beyond cell segregation, the role of mechanical boundaries during tissue morphogenesis is unclear. In this thesis, I studied the compartmental boundaries, called parasegment boundaries (PSBs), responsible for cell sorting in the early Drosophila embryo. I focused on the role of the PSBs during axis extension at gastrulation, when the boundaries first become mechanically active. With the aim of identifying new cell surface molecules required to recruit actomyosin at PSBs, I undertook an in silico screen using publicly available datasets. I screened numerous resources to identify genes that: i) encode cell surface proteins, ii) are expressed in D-V oriented stripes in the early embryo and iii) are under pair-rule gene network regulation. I then undertook an in situ hybridisation screen to ask which of the candidate genes were expressed in stripes that border PSBs. For this work I took advantage of in situ Hybridisation Chain Reaction (HCR) methods, which allowed me to locate mRNA expression with cellular resolution. I found several genes matching the above criteria and chose to focus on a gene that abuts both odd and even-numbered PSBs throughout germ-band extension, tartan. tartan encodes a …
author: Sharrock, Thomas
language: eng
keywords: Morphogenesis, Compartment Boundary, Drosophila, embryo, Cell tracking
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/844377cf-502e-4e7e-b158-bdccf4602d22/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2020-12-31
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:27Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.69283