Assessing the Role of the Gene, Pebbled, in D. melanogaster ASP Invasive Behavior

Abstract

The Drosophila Air Sac Primordia (ASP) can be used to study invasive behavior as it mimics tumor behavior when it invades into the Wing Imaginal Disc (WID) during larval development. A protein expressed in the ASP was found to be coded by the gene pebbled (peb). This study was conducted to see whether pebbled influences the invasive behavior of the ASP. Using Drosophila genetics and RNA interference, the pebbled gene was knocked down and less‐developed and less‐invaded ASP's were seen as the result. The data presented provides information on the possible role of pebbled in tumor invasion. The downregulation of pebbled also lead to a decrease in filopodia (actin projections protruding from the ASP) supporting the claim that there is a direct positive correlation between quantity of filopodia and the invasive capabilities of the ASP.Support or Funding Information KBRIN AREA and IDeA Grants funded by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health Grant # P20GM103436 WKU Biotechnology Center Gatton Academy Research Internship Grant (RIG) WKU Faculty Undergraduate Student Engagement (FUSE) Grant This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.