IDENTIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE KC53 GENE IMPLICATED IN BORDER CELL MIGRATION IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER OOGENESIS

Abstract

Collective cell migration is crucial for developmental processes such as neural crest migration and has also been implicated in cancer cell metastasis. While migration of individual cells has been well-characterized, the coordinated migration of a group of cells has been less well-described. A model system for studying group migration is the border cell cluster in Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis. The border cells, which ultimately contribute to the formation of the micropyle structure of the egg, detach from the anterior epithelium of the egg chamber and migrate posteriorly in a regulated manner as a cluster to reach the border between the oocyte and the nurse cells. Here, we present KC53, a novel mutant that displays a border cell migration defect. KC53 mutant border cells fail to reach the oocyte by Stage 10 of oogenesis. An analysis of candidate genes yields strong sequencing evidence that CG14535 is the gene affected in the KC53 mutant. CG14535 encodes a kinesin-like protein whose exact role is unknown. Current work is focusing on confirming the identity of the affected gene, and future work will focus on investigating the mechanism by which CG14535 affects border cell migration and whether it interacts with known signaling pathways. This analysis of collective cell migration has important implications for understanding normal development as well as cancer cell metastasis.