The UG Drosophila Lab

The Drosophila laboratory of the University of Gothenburg is based in the Institute of Biomedicine and consists of the following groups:

Anne Uv>>
The research aims to understand epithelial tube morphogenesis, using the Drosophila respiratory organ (trachea) as a primary model system.

Iris van Dijk Härd >>
Research in the group is focused on large glycosylated proteins in the Drosophila digestive system and their relation to developmental processes and innate immunity.
Link to Database >>

Bernard Moussain>>
The group studies the dynamics of the apical plasma membrane of epithelia during formation of an extracellular matrix using various epithelial organs in Drosophila as model tissues.

Anne Uv research group

In our group we study the Drosophila tracheal system with the aim to understand the process of epithelial tube morphogenesis.

The fertilized egg has an enormous capacity, through divisions and cell differentiation, to form the multiple structures that constitute our bodies. Epithelial tubes are among the intricate structures. They form extended networks, which enable us to breathe, to circulate our blood and to collect and secrete body fluids.

Epithelial tube morphogenesis can with advantage be studied in simpler organisms, which offer multiple ways of experimental manipulation, including genetics. Drosophila melanogaster is one such organism. Formation of its trachea, a respiratory network of plain epithelial tubes, shares striking parallels with mammalian tubular organ development and is now a leading model organ for epithelial tubulogenesis.

Studies of the trachea have helped us reveal a role for apical extracellular components in tube morphogenesis, which represents a new biological field. We now use the trachea to understand the relationship between osmosis and regulation of lumen volume, the interplay between different structures in shaping a lumen, formation of epithelial barriers and the global coordination of developmental gene programs to produce functional organs and organisms. Characterization of such fundamental processes in Drosophila, which shares two thirds of its genes with humans, should enable the recognition of analogous mechanisms in vertebrates.

Iris van Dijk Härd
Research Group

We study large glycosylated proteins in Drosophila, with emphasis on the digestive system, and their importance for organ development and innate immunity.

Mucins are large glycosylated proteins that help to form a physical barrier to pathogens, dehydration and other damage in luminal organs. A lack of such protection is associated with development of epithelial diseases, like IBD, Chron’s Disease, Cystic Fibrosis and epithelial cancers. The molecular basis for mucin function is however not completely understood, partly because biochemical properties of mucins make them hard to study in vitro. We have identified Drosophila mucins and found them to be expressed in similar organs as vertebrate mucins. Additionally, some of the mucins are expressed in specific organs during embryogenesis.

We will address the biological function of the identified proteins in developmental and immunological processes by genetic and phenotypic analyses, and as a further aid we are currently developing antibodies for all mucins. Molecular mechanisms and signal pathways are surprisingly conserved between Drosophila and human. This fact, together with our expression data, gives a reasonable expectation that our studies will have a direct relevance for human pathology.

A second project aims to address the function of trans-membrane mucins as signal modulators that affect tumor cell phenotypes. We have identified Drosophila proteins that contain non-mucin domains of human trans-membrane mucins. Antisera against these proteins have been generated and Drosophila mutants for each corresponding gene obtained. Functional characterization of the Drosophila proteins should provide new insights into mucin signaling that will later be extended into human systems and hopefully provide future targets for cancer diagnosis and therapeutic interventions.

Bernard Moussian Guest Research Group

The physiological and barrier functions of many epithelia rely among others on their apical extracellular matrices (aECM). A central element mediating and organising aECM production and integrity is the apical plasma membrane that often adopts a typical topology implying asymmetric distribution of determinants within the plasma membrane. Using the exoskeleton of the larva of fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster called the cuticle as a model aECM, we are studying the genetic and molecular mechanisms of apical plasma membrane shaping and function following a comparative approach.

Indeed, cuticle architecture varies in different larval tissues – the epidermis, the tracheae and the gut epithelia – according to their needs: for example, the foregut cuticle is largely hardened (sclerotised) as it is used to chew food, whereas most parts of the body cuticle are elastic allowing flexible locomotion through rotten fruits. Consistently, the apical plasma membrane in different tissues has to be adequately equipped to coordinate the specific as well as common molecular mechanisms. In particular, we are focussing on the function of membrane-associated factors and the regulation of their activity in different cuticle-producing tissues during development. At the moment, we are performing a genetic screen to identify factors required for apical plasma membrane shaping and function.

Our findings will contribute to the understanding of basic biological mechanisms that are essential for the function of epithelia.