Download Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative

Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement (EURēCA)
Abstract Submission Form 2013
Please submit electronically to your Division Representative and the Office of
Research (email: [email protected]) no later than February 20, 2013.
Student Name(s):
Shannon Smith & Hakyong Kwak
Title of Presentation:
Characterization of the apoptotic functions
of the Hid homolog isolated from Scuttle
fly, Megaselia scalaris
Division of Entry:
Faculty Advisor:
BCMB
Jae Park
Abstract: (Type in 12 point font to fit the box below.)
Apoptotic cell death is crucial for the normal development of animals. Apoptosis is a
form of programmed cell death in which cell death is precisely regulated by a genetic
program. Drosophila melanogaster has been extensively used as a model system to study
the molecular bases of apoptosis. Reaper (rpr), head involution defective (hid), grim and
sickle are the death promoters best characterized in D. melanogastera. The products of
these death genes antagonize caspase inhibitor, thereby activating these caspases, which
are the ultimate executioners of programmed cell death (Lee et al, 2012). To investigate
whether apoptotic mechanisms are conserved in remotely related species, we cloned a
gene from the scuttle fly, Megaselia scalaris, homologous to Drosophila hid (dHID). The
isolated scHID cDNA encodes a protein of 197 amino acids, which was much shorter
than that of dHID- 410 aa. We then tested the killing activity of this gene in Drosophila
neurons using a UAS-gal4 transgenic expression system. The results showed that the
scHID killed all neurons that we tested in the Drosophila central nervous system. This
indicates that despite the significant structural divergence, the death domains have been
conserved over time and are sufficient for the killing activities.