The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Biology Department for the seminar "From Specification to Neurogenesis: The Case of the Drosophila Eye-Antennal Disc," presented by Francesca Pignoni, associate professor in the departments of Ophthalmology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Neuroscience and Physiology at SUNY Upstate Medical University, on Monday, October 19, at 3:00 p.m. in Bulger Communication Center West.

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Seminar Abstract
The eye-antennal disc of Drosophila (the progenitor epithelium for the fly head) is an ideal model to investigate how the rich diversity of tissues and organs of complex multicellular organisms arises during development. In this epithelium, distinct genetic networks drive the formation of unique sensory organs, such as the compound eye, and cross-network interactions play a critical role in overall head formation. Interestingly, the development of the retina field and its adjacent peripodial epithelium utilize genetic pathways that are evolutionarily conserved from fly to mammals. This talk will include a short background on Drosophila as a developmental biology model and a research report on the genetic control of tissue identity and organ formation.