Objective
Wingless is a secreted glycoprotein that acts as a morphogen and plays fundamental roles in body patterning and cell differentiation. To prevent ectopic signaling, mechanisms have evolved that confine its range of action. One such mechanism has been discovered by the group that I am joining. In Drosophila embryos, the action of Wingless towards the posterior is limited by an EGFR -regulated pathway that targets this molecule for lysosomal degradation. My aim is to uncover the cell biological basis of this phenomenon. Using a genetic approach, I will identify the receptor(s) of Wingless that are responsible for its degradation. I will then study biochemically whether the receptor(s) undergo( es) post-translational modifications that might regulate the degradation process. The receptors will also be mutagenised in vitro and their ability to mediate degradation assayed. Together, these two approaches will allow me to map the sites, within the cytoplasmic tail of those receptors, that are required for regulated lysosomal targeting. In parallel I will identify additional proteins that regulate the degradation process. This will be done in two different ways:
1 ) using RNA-i to test the role of candidate molecules and
2) isolating biochemically proteins that interact with the receptor only at the stage when the degradation process is activated.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques.
- natural sciencesbiological sciencesbiochemistrybiomoleculesproteins
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicineembryology
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Topic(s)
Data not availableCall for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
RGI - Research grants (individual fellowships)Coordinator
NW7 1AA London
United Kingdom