Analysis of proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans from Drosophila.

Abstract

The fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, has provided a powerful model organism for the study of development. Analysis of patterning in a variety of species from the nematode, C. elegans, to frogs, chicks, and mice have demonstrated that the fundamental mechanisms of morphogenesis are conserved among diverse species. In recent years genetic studies in Drosophila have shown that proteoglycans (PGs) and their associated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are critical for normal development. While there exists a sophisticated set of genetic and molecular tools for the study of Drosophila, methods for the analysis of PGs and GAGs are not nearly as well developed. We have begun to divise such methods in order that genetic and biochemical studies can be merged to understand better the function of PGs during development at the molecular level.