Live Imaging of Heart Function in Akirin and Simj Mutant Embryos
Disciplines
Developmental Biology
Abstract (300 words maximum)
Congenital heart defects are the most prevalent form of developmental abnormality in humans, present in approximately 1 in 100 live births. Many of these congenital heart defects are linked to genetic mutations, but the specific genes involved remain unknown. The Nowak Lab has identified a number of genetic loci that are critical for development of the embryonic heart, and is using the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, as a means to study the roles of these gene during embryonic development. In the fruit fly, the heart develops as a simple two chambered tube. The genes that pattern this tube are highly conserved from humans to flies, and by studying them in fruit flies, we can gain insights into their roles during human development. The Nowak Lab has identified the nuclear co-factor Akirin as a regulator of cardiac gene expression. Recent work in the Nowak Lab has also determined that Akirin likely works with the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex to regulate cardiac gene expression. Embryos bearing mutations in different NuRD subunits produce hearts that are misshapen, abnormally patterned, and have reduced numbers of cardiomyoblasts in the finished heart. The NuRD complex is a large multi protein complex that consists of over ten different subunits. My project examines whether one of these subunits, a protein called Simjoang (simj) plays a role during cardiac function. I am using live confocal imaging to record and study the heartbeats in akirin, simj double heterozygous mutant embryos. By studying the heart abnormalities in these mutants, I hope to understand the role for simj, and the larger NuRD complex, during heart formation.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
CSM - Molecular and Cellular Biology
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Scott J. Nowak
Live Imaging of Heart Function in Akirin and Simj Mutant Embryos
Congenital heart defects are the most prevalent form of developmental abnormality in humans, present in approximately 1 in 100 live births. Many of these congenital heart defects are linked to genetic mutations, but the specific genes involved remain unknown. The Nowak Lab has identified a number of genetic loci that are critical for development of the embryonic heart, and is using the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit fly, as a means to study the roles of these gene during embryonic development. In the fruit fly, the heart develops as a simple two chambered tube. The genes that pattern this tube are highly conserved from humans to flies, and by studying them in fruit flies, we can gain insights into their roles during human development. The Nowak Lab has identified the nuclear co-factor Akirin as a regulator of cardiac gene expression. Recent work in the Nowak Lab has also determined that Akirin likely works with the Nucleosome Remodeling and Deacetylase (NuRD) complex to regulate cardiac gene expression. Embryos bearing mutations in different NuRD subunits produce hearts that are misshapen, abnormally patterned, and have reduced numbers of cardiomyoblasts in the finished heart. The NuRD complex is a large multi protein complex that consists of over ten different subunits. My project examines whether one of these subunits, a protein called Simjoang (simj) plays a role during cardiac function. I am using live confocal imaging to record and study the heartbeats in akirin, simj double heterozygous mutant embryos. By studying the heart abnormalities in these mutants, I hope to understand the role for simj, and the larger NuRD complex, during heart formation.