Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

Biology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine the role of the Surfeit-4 gene, or Surf-4 locus protein, during Drosophila melanogaster development. Surf-4 was identified in the Srivastava lab in a biochemical screen for proteins that associate with the basement membrane (BM): a structure needed and required for normal development and its degradation is a hallmark of tumor metastasis. Surf-4 has been predicted to function within intracellular compartments and is known to be expressed in many parts of the developing fly. We are currently determining why Surf-4 is important in development and what role, if any, it could play during tumorigenesis. Surf-4 is predicted to be a cargo receptor protein, involved in recruitment of coat protein complex vesicles (COP) in the early secretory pathway. This pathway is responsible for the transport of soluble proteins between the Endoplasmic Reticulum and the Golgi apparatus, (Kapadia and Srivastava, unpublished, 2016). It is our prediction that Surf-4’s subcellular localization will place it in either the ER or the Golgi or both. This information will be crucial in determining further Surf-4 functions. These experiments will benefit from our characterization of the Surf-4 antibody – a crucial reagent for further study of this protein. By characterizing Surf-4, we can determine what factors affect basement membrane development and how that can be further applied to cancer research.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Ajay Srivastava, Ph.D., Nilesh Sharma, Ph.D., Rodney King, Ph.D.

Disciplines

Cell and Developmental Biology | Genetics and Genomics | Life Sciences | Medical Sciences

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