AdamTS‐A Developmental Function in Neuronal Development and Migration in Drosophila Melanogaster

Abstract

The Drosophila central nervous system (CNS) is an excellent model system in which to dissect the genetic and molecular processes that control the development of the nervous system. Through a forward genetic screen, we previously identified, a larval phenotype that leads to the formation of ectopic neural masses. These masses are composed of dozens to thousands of neuronal cell bodies at the junctures between the brain and the eyes, the ventral nerve cord and the leg imaginial discs, as well as within nerves. We determined that this mutant phenotype arises due to a transposable element insert within the 5' untranslated region of a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif A (AdamTS‐A) gene. The AdamTS family of proteases are secreted proteins thought to play critical roles in extracullular matrix (ECM) formation and function, and their regulation has been linked to cancer progression. We have recently generated RNA and antibody probes to the AdamTS‐A and will report the RNA and protein expression of Adam TS‐A during larval CNS development.Support from the NINDS/NIH grant number NS0365570 and the Opportunities in Genomics Research through the Genome Institute at Washington University in St. Louis, grant number R25H600668703.