xi, 88 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Neuroblasts are the neural stem cells of the Drosophlia central nervous system. They are large cells that divide asymmetrically to renew another neuroblast and generate a smaller ganglion mother cell (gmc) that will divide once to produce two neurons. Combining genetic lineage tracing experiments with cell fate markers I isolated two separate neural stem cell populations with distinct locations and cellular behaviors in the larval brain. In my first chapter I introduce the central nervous system of Drosophila and in the next two sections of chapter I, I introduce the development of the optic lobe and central brain, two separate structures of the central nervous system. In my second chapter I characterize the lineage relationship of cells within the developing larval optic lobe and use cell fate markers to determine the identity of these cells. Next I examine the effect of spindle orientation on cell fate within epithelial cells of the optic lobe. In my third chapter I characterize another novel neural stem cell lineage in the larval brain containing GMCs with greater proliferation potential than a "canonical" GMC, and I term these, transit amplifying gmcs (TA-GMCs). Further I show that the parent neuroblast of these novel TA-GMCs does not asymmetrically segregate the fate determinant Prospero (Pros) thereby producing a GMC with greater proliferation potential. Finally I show that TA-GMCs do asymmetrically segregate the fate determinant Pros, divide slowly and give rise to up to 10 neurons which normal gmcs never do. In my fourth chapter I show preliminary work on the characterization of a mutation that causes excessive production of neuroblasts specifically in novel TA-GMC lineages. These findings reveal novel neural stem cell lineages, patterns of asymmetric cell division and patterns of neurogenesis that could aid in our understanding of neural stem cell biology and tumorogenesis. This dissertation includes both my previously published and my co-authored materials. / Adviser: Chris Doe
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uoregon.edu/oai:scholarsbank.uoregon.edu:1794/8160 |
| Date | 06 1900 |
| Creators | Boone, Jason Nathaniel, 1976- |
| Publisher | University of Oregon |
| Source Sets | University of Oregon |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Relation | University of Oregon theses, Dept. of Biology, Ph. D., 2008; |
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