Authors:

Irmak Altinok

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About Paper:

The function of a mature organ is dependent on the proper development of its structure, which stems from the correct organization of its cell types into specific patterns. While much is understood about the genetic pathways that determine the fate of specific cell types, how cells organize in the specific spatial patterns that are integral to tissue function remains an open question. The developing Drosophila eye is an ideal model to address this gap in understanding. Each compound eye is made of ~750 units called ommatidia, each consisting of a core of photoreceptor neurons surrounded by supportive interommatidial pigment cells (IOPCs). During development, interactions between IOPCs organize each ommatidium into a precise hexagonal shape. Motivated by prior work from the Rebay lab suggesting that IOPCs form a mechanically coupled network that spans the entire retina, the broad goal of my project is to understand how physical interactions within this network influence ommatidial patterning. My hypothesis is that patterning in the retina is influenced by non-autonomous interactions between neighboring cells. To test this, I am using genetic tools available in Drosophila to locally disrupt patterning and then investigate how these induced defects affect the shape and organization of the surrounding cells. I have identified that the regional over-expression of AKT, a serine/threonine kinase that regulates cell division and growth, leads to an increase in the apical area of IOPCs and defects in the geometry of ommatidia in the mutant region. My preliminary results demonstrate that the geometry of genetically wildtype ommatidia may be impacted by the patterning disruptions of the adjacent mutant ommatidia, and furthermore, that mutant ommatidia closer to genetically wildtype ommatidia may exhibit some rescue of the AKT mutant phenotype, suggesting that long-range cell-cell interactions may play a significant role in ommatidial patterning.

Source:

University of Chicago

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Co-authors:

Irmak Altinok