Mosaic Analysis of Neurogenesis and Neuronal Morphogenesis in Drosophila Learning and Memory Center Mushroom Bodies

119 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2005.Based on the above findings, a forward genetic screen using MARCM (m&barbelow;osaic a&barbelow;nalysis with r&barbelow;epressible c&barbelow;ell m&barbelow;arker) system, which uniquely labels wild type or homozygous mutant single-cell or subcell lineages born at specific developmental stages, was performed for identification of novel genes involved in MB neuron development. Of 1200 mutant chromosome arms of 2L screened, two interesting genes were identified and their functions in MB neuron development were further characterized. These two genes are Cul3 and Chinmo. Cul3 encodes a scaffold protein for E3 ubiquitin ligase. Phenotypic analysis demonstrates that Cul3 is required for proper axon arborization and dendritic elaboration of MB neurons. Chinmo is a novel BTB-zinc finger protein. Functional analysis shows that Chinmo is an important intrinsic factor involved in birth order-dependent specification of neuronal identities. These findings provide news insights into the mechanisms underlying neuronal morphogenesis and the generation of neuronal diversity.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD