Aditya Saxena

Role of Crossveinless-c in Malpighian tubule morphogensis

RhoGTPase Activating Proteins (RhoGAPs) are highly conserved regulators of RhoGTPase proteins like Rho, Rac and Cdc42, which act to modulate intercellular signaling and cytoskeletal dynamics. RhoGAPs control the activity of RhoGTPase in a spatio-temporal manner during tissue development in Drosophila (Simones et al., Development, 2006).

Crossveinless-c (Cv-c) is a RhoGAP which uses Rho and Rac as its substrates and is crucial for Malpighian tubule morphogenesis (Denholm et al., Development, 2005). However, the molecular mechanism/s by which Cv-c controls tubule morphogenesis is less clear. Identification of protein(s) interacting with Cv-c during embryogenesis can help us to address this question. I have identified candidate interactors of Cv-c, and hope, through analysis of their activity, to uncover molecular events underlying tubule morphogenesis. Other interests: History and Philosophy of Science, Public policy in Science education, Cooking and Music.