Year: 2012
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The establishment and maintenance of epithelial polarity is dependent on polarity regulators. One such polarity regulatory is Bazooka (Baz). Baz is located around the apical circumference, serving as a cytosplasmic scaffold to assemble adherens junctions. In vitro analyses presented RhoGAP19D as a potential Baz-interacting protein. RhoGAP19D’s homologs have been linked to the actin cytoskeleton and the PAR complex through the RhoGTPase CDC42. To study RhoGAP19D’s functions, a GFP-tagged RhoGAP19D was made. This construct was expressed in the Drosophila embryonic ectoderm and follicular epithelium. It localized to the apical circumference with enrichment at Baz-puncta and actin-rich locations, but its main localization mechanism appears to be independent of Baz. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function analyses for RhoGAP19D revealed phenotypes consistent with it being an inhibitor of the PAR complex and the actin cytoskeleton. Thus, I hypothesize that RhoGAP19D regulates Drosophila epithelial polarity by inhibiting the PAR complex and the actin cytoskeleton by inhibiting CDC42.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Joon-Hyung Tak
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2288240979