Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Centriole Duplication and Inheritance
in Drosophila melanogaster
Tomer Avidor-Reiss, Jayachandran Gopalakrishnan,
Stephanie Blachon and Andrey Polyanovsky
Abstract Centrosomes are conserved microtubule-based organelles that are
essential for animal development. In this chapter, we highlight key centrosomal
proteins and describe the centrosome in the context of several developmental
processes in Drosophila melanogaster. These processes include fertilization,
during which the centrosome mediates the fusion of male and female pronuclei;
development of the embryonic syncytium, where centrosomes act as microtubule-
organizing centers and participate in nuclear division; and the formation of sensory
and motile cilia in the adult, where the centrosome's centrioles template axoneme
assembly. The study of these processes in Drosophila provides a unique experi-
mental system where classical approaches in genetics and biochemistry can be
used to dissect centrosome biology.
1.1 What are the Challenges in Studying the Centrosome
and Why Use Drosophila?
Like chromosomes and yeast spindle pole bodies (SPB), centrosome numbers in
the cell is strictly controlled. Control of centrosome numbers is achieved by a
process of duplication in which the preexisting structure is used as a means to
T. Avidor-Reiss (
&
)
J. Gopalakrishnan
S. Blachon
Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School,
Seeley G. Mudd Building, Room 509A, 250 Longwood Avenue,
Boston 02115, MA, USA
e-mail: tomer_avidor-reiss@hms.harvard.edu
A. Polyanovsky
Sechenov Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
