We are upgrading the repository! A content freeze is in effect until December 6, 2024. New submissions or changes to existing items will not be allowed during this period. All content already published will remain publicly available for searching and downloading. Updates will be posted in the Website Upgrade 2024 FAQ in the sidebar Help menu. Reach out to escholarship@umassmed.edu with any questions.

Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorStevenson,, Victoria A.
dc.date2022-08-11T08:08:41.000
dc.date.accessioned2022-08-23T16:04:06Z
dc.date.available2022-08-23T16:04:06Z
dc.date.issued2002-01-11
dc.date.submitted2007-04-18
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/31623
dc.descriptionIn the process of seeking author's permission to provide full text.
dc.description.abstractThis work addresses the mechanism of cell cycle specific actin reorganization in Drosophila syncytial blastoderm embryos. During mitosis in typical animal cells after chromosome segregation is complete, daughter cells are separated in a process called cytokinesis. Cytokinesis is ordinarily driven by constriction of an actin ring that physically pinches the cell in two. The early Drosophila embryo is a syncytium; nuclei divide in a single cell without intervening cytokinesis. During the later syncytial divisions, nuclei are arranged in a monolayer at the cortex of the embryo. This stage of embryogenesis is characterized by cycles of actin reorganization that are coordinated with the nuclear division cycles. Since several components of typical cleavage furrows function in this cell cycle driven actin reorganization, the syncytial blastoderm has been used as a model system to better understand cell cycle driven actin reorganization in typical cells. The syncytial Drosophila embryo is easily manipulated genetically, cytoskeletal structures can be visualized in both fixed and living embryos, and large quantities of embryos are attainable for biochemical analysis. We have therefore chosen this model system to study actin reorganization. We show that actin reorganization in syncytial embryos is coordinated by cell cycle cues similar to those utilized in typical cells. Drosophila embryo actin reorganization has several unique features, however. For instance, actin reorganization appears to be associated with centrosomes in a process that does not require microtubules. In addition, the driving force for formation of Drosophila cleavage structures may be actin filament polymerization, rather than contraction of an acto-myosin ring. Whether these characteristics of Drosophila embryo actin reorganization typifies actin reorganization in other cells remains to be seen.
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved.
dc.subjectActins
dc.subjectCell Cycle Proteins
dc.subjectDrosophila Proteins
dc.subjectGiant Cells
dc.subjectAcademic Dissertations
dc.subjectLife Sciences
dc.subjectMedicine and Health Sciences
dc.titleActin Reorganization in Drosophila Syncytial Blastoderm Embryos: a Dissertation
dc.typeDoctoral Dissertation
dc.identifier.legacycoverpagehttps://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_diss/308
dc.legacy.embargo2017-04-24T00:00:00-07:00
dc.identifier.contextkey294691
html.description.abstract<p>This work addresses the mechanism of cell cycle specific actin reorganization in <em>Drosophila</em> syncytial blastoderm embryos. During mitosis in typical animal cells after chromosome segregation is complete, daughter cells are separated in a process called cytokinesis. Cytokinesis is ordinarily driven by constriction of an actin ring that physically pinches the cell in two. The early <em>Drosophila</em> embryo is a syncytium; nuclei divide in a single cell without intervening cytokinesis. During the later syncytial divisions, nuclei are arranged in a monolayer at the cortex of the embryo. This stage of embryogenesis is characterized by cycles of actin reorganization that are coordinated with the nuclear division cycles. Since several components of typical cleavage furrows function in this cell cycle driven actin reorganization, the syncytial blastoderm has been used as a model system to better understand cell cycle driven actin reorganization in typical cells. The syncytial <em>Drosophila</em> embryo is easily manipulated genetically, cytoskeletal structures can be visualized in both fixed and living embryos, and large quantities of embryos are attainable for biochemical analysis. We have therefore chosen this model system to study actin reorganization. We show that actin reorganization in syncytial embryos is coordinated by cell cycle cues similar to those utilized in typical cells. <em>Drosophila</em> embryo actin reorganization has several unique features, however. For instance, actin reorganization appears to be associated with centrosomes in a process that does not require microtubules. In addition, the driving force for formation of <em>Drosophila</em> cleavage structures may be actin filament polymerization, rather than contraction of an acto-myosin ring. Whether these characteristics of <em>Drosophila</em> embryo actin reorganization typifies actin reorganization in other cells remains to be seen.</p>
dc.identifier.submissionpathgsbs_diss/308
dc.contributor.departmentMorningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology


This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record