The Drosophila life cycle has 3 distinct phases: larva, pupa, and adult, each with unique motor functions. Metamorphosis, the transition from larva to adult, is when the most significant reorganization of the nervous system occurs, to accommodate a shift in locomotor function to the thorax, and gain of reproductive functions in the abdomen. Over the four day period of metamorphosis five posterior larval nerves of the abdomen fuse to create the Terminal Nerve Trunk (TNT) (Subramanian et al, 2017). Each nerve is ensheathed by one extracellular matrix layer and three glial layers (Stork 2008). My project is focused on Wrapping Glia (WG), the innermost layer which surrounds approximately 70-90 axons found at the core. Ongoing projects in the lab are aimed at understanding how the ensheathing layers are reorganized during metamorphosis and how these changes are aligned with neuronal reorganization and integrated with nerve fusion to form the TNT. This model is relevant for studying neural plasticity, which is applicable to humans, for example, neural circuits generated during puberty, and spinal injuries. While working on this project I have made findings such as a larval axon count, glial boundaries in adult patterns of nerves. The next steps in the project is work on axon count in the adult patterns and practicing single cell labeling. I am learning to use ImageJ and will be learning about genetic approaches for single cell labeling. These in-depth experiences will benefit my Biology and Pre-medical studies major as it gives me experience creating, conducting and gathering results from this project which are valuable transferable skills.
Author(s): Jonathan Hildebrand, Yoshitha Bhargav, and Joyce Fernandes, Ph.D.
Advisor(s): Joyce Fernandes and Yoshitha Bhargav Department of Biology
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