Wnt signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway that is essential for the development of the metazoan embryo. Wnt signaling controls essential developmental processes including cell fate, cell polarity, dorsal-ventral patterning and tissue movement. Misregulated Wnt signaling can have disastrous effects on the developing human embryo, leading to potentially fatal congenital malformations including anencephaly and spina bifida. In addition to embryonic development, misregulated Wnt signaling has been implicated in human pathologies including colon and breast cancers and skeletal malformations. Wnt signaling is divided into two main pathway branches, canonical or beta-catenin dependent, and non-canonical, sometimes referred to as the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway. The former branch activates the transcription of the downstream target genes leading to the patterning the dorsal-ventral axis of the developing embryo, whilst the latter has no downstream transcriptional targets but rather acts upon the cytoskeleton to control cell and tissue polarity and movement. Wnt signaling bifurcates into these two branches at the level of the protein Dishevelled (Dvl). The Dishevelled-associated activator of morphogenesis 1 (Daam1) protein was identified via a yeast-two hybrid screen using Dvl as bait. Daam1 interacts directly with Dvl and mediates activation of the small GTPase Rho, a key player in non-canonical Wnt
signaling necessary for proper gastrulation in the Xenopus (frog) embryo.
In addition to Daam1, vertebrates possess a second Daam, Daam2, originally identified via an in silico screen in humans. Similar to Daam1, frog Daam2 participates in non-canonical Wnt signaling, contributing to proper formation of the
embryonic neural tube. However, conflicting opinions on the function of Daam2 have led to discrepancies regarding its position in Wnt signaling and function in development. Daam1/2 have not been extensively investigated at the genetic level, therefore, I employed the genetic model zebrafish (Danio rerio) to further clarify their role in Wnt signaling. Using techniques such as the latest gene-editing system CRISPR/Cas9 and other well-established molecular methods including in situ hybridization, RT-PCR and knockdown using morpholino oligonucleotides, I sought to further establish the role of the Daam protein family in vertebrate embryonic development. Together, my results indicate that the zebrafish Daam1a/b and Daam2 behave similarly to Daam1 and Daam2 in frog, respectively, by participating in the non- canonical Wnt signaling pathway and mediating morphology in the developing zebrafish embryo. / Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TEMPLE/oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/6545 |
| Date | January 2021 |
| Creators | Cunningham, Carlee M, 0000-0001-6882-8830 |
| Contributors | Habas, Raymond, Balciunas, Darius, Palter, Karen, Burdine, Rebecca D. |
| Publisher | Temple University. Libraries |
| Source Sets | Temple University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 137 pages |
| Rights | IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/6527, Theses and Dissertations |
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