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Laboratory for Cellular & Developmental Genetics
Exploring mechanisms controlling reproductive stem cell development and tissue homeostasis
Exploring mechanisms controlling reproductive stem cell development and tissue homeostasis
Testes and ovaries of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, are among the most widely studied systems for elucidating mechanisms controlling stem cell behavior and development. With elegant genetic techniques for gene manipulation and cell tracking, the Wawersik Lab utilizes Drosophila as a model organism to better understand the processes of reproductive stem cell maintenance and differentiation, as well as stem cell niche formation and organogenesis. As ~75% of human disease-causing genes have a fly homolog, work by our team of undergraduate and master's students aims to identify mechanisms that cause infertility and reproductive cancer in humans.
Drosophila testis stem cell niche: (left) Adult male reproductive tract with testis coils highlighted in green. The germline stem cell (GSC) niche is located at the tip of each testis coil (asterisks). (right) Schematic of testis apex housing the GSC niche that regulates maintenance and differentiation germline and somatic stem cells. Images adapted from de Cuevas , 2011.
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