Developmental Biology

The Developmental Biology CURE extends the Fly-CURE research experience into cellular and developmental biology by investigating how genetic mutations affect tissue development in Drosophila melanogaster. While prior Fly-CURE work has characterized mutations using adult eye phenotypes, this CURE shifts attention to the underlying developmental processes in larval and pupal stages.

In this CURE, students investigate how mutations affect organogenesis by analyzing developing tissues, specifically the wing and eye imaginal discs, which serve as powerful and accessible models for studying epithelial development and conserved signaling pathways relevant to human biology and disease. Overall, the Developmental Biology CURE provides students with a deeper, mechanistic understanding of how genes regulate development while engaging in discovery-based research. These experiments allow direct comparison between mutant and control tissues, helping students connect genotype to phenotype at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels.

The Developmental Biology CURE is structured around a widely used developmental biology framework: “find it, lose it, move it.” Through this curriculum, students engage in authentic research using the following approaches:

• “Lose it”: loss-of-function phenotypic analysis to examine mutant phenotypes in developing tissues via larval dissection, immunostaining, and microscopy to assess cell division, cell death, and tissue patterning. Specifically, students will use antibody-based detection of key signaling and cell cycle proteins to assess the processes and developmental events affected by perturbation of the gene of interest.
• “Find it”: localization analysis to determine spatial and temporal mRNA transcript or protein expression in vivo using genetic tools such as tagged lines or GAL4/UAS-driven expression with available transgenic lines. RT-PCR (quantitative or semi-quantitative approaches) and/or Western blotting may also be performed to evaluate gene expression.
• “Move it”: gain-of-function phenotypic characterization to test the effects of ectopic gene expression to explore gene function and developmental regulation (when reagents are available).

This CURE is adaptable and can function as a standalone research experience or as a follow-up to the genetics-based Fly-CURE, particularly when mutant genes have already been mapped to a single gene. The included experimental approaches can also be adapted based on available resources, equipment, and curricular time. Importantly, the work generated has the potential to contribute to ongoing research efforts and student-authored publications.

• Mendelian genetics
• Loss-of-function phenotypic characterization using available mutant alleles, RNAi lines, and CRISPR lines
• Gain-of-function phenotypic characterization using available tagged and transgenic lines, possibly via the UAS/GAL4 genetic overexpression system
• Microdissection of larval imaginal discs
• Immunohistochemistry/immunostaining using available stains and antibodies, including those that assess tissue patterning and the function and expression of key signaling pathways, including cell cycle or cell death pathways
• Bright field and/or fluorescence microscopy
• Gene expression analysis using Western blotting, semi-quantitative RT-PCR, or quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR)

• Overview Video
• Sample Syllabus/Course Schedule

• Julie Merkle, PhD
  • Associate Professor of Biology, University of Evansville, Evansville, IN 47722
• Office Phone: 812-488-5026
• Email: jm757@evansville.edu