Publication Date

Spring 5-7-2023

Document Type

Student Project

First Advisor

Devergne, Olivier

Degree Name

B.S. (Bachelor of Science)

Department

Department of Biological Sciences

Abstract

Cell migration plays a key role in many biological processes including embryonic development, tissue morphogenesis, and the metastasis of cancer cells; thus, understanding how this behavior works is highly important. To study cell migration, we use the process of border cell (BC) migration in Drosophila melanogaster, which sees a cluster of cells migrate through a multicellular structure known as the egg chamber found in the Drosophila ovary. Here, I will describe my results in studying the role of a particular kinesin-like gene, CG14535, in BC migration. Through analysis of a mutant for this gene (labelled KC53), RNAi knockdown experiments, analysis of related cellular pathways, and new molecular constructs for CRISPR/Cas-9 gene editing, we show this gene to be involved in BC migration and present new avenues to investigate its function. Furthermore, I will describe work done on applying deep learning to microscopy images of BC migration as a means to aid researchers in identifying cell migration defects and automate a time-consuming step in the research process.

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