The role of the adiponectin receptor homolog in Drosophila melanogaster oogenesis. Kaitlin Laws, Leesa Sampson, Daniela Drummond-Barbosa. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

   The ability of a stem cell to sense and respond appropriately to systemic cues is integral for the coordination of its behavior with whole organism physiology. The Drosophila melanogaster ovary is a stem cell-based system that rapidly responds to the diet of the organism through hormonal and local nutrient-sensing pathways. Previous work in our lab demonstrated that Drosophila ovarian germline stem cells (GSCs) require several nutrient-sensing pathways, including insulin signaling directly for their proliferation and indirectly for their maintenance. It is unclear, however, whether adipose tissue secreted proteins play a role in the modulation of stem cell activity. In mammals, the adipose tissue secretes adipokines that regulate organismal metabolism and homeostasis. The adipokine adiponectin is of particular interest because of its well-described role as an insulin-sensitizing agent. Although there is no obvious Drosophila homolog of adiponectin based on primary sequence, a homolog of the adiponectin receptor, CG5315, has been identified. We have generated a null CG5315 mutant allele, obtained CG5315 hairpin lines for RNAi, and are in the process of generating CG5315 rescue lines and analyzing the ovary autonomous and non-autonomous roles of CG5315 during Drosophila oogenesis. These studies will provide us with a more complete view of how stem cells respond to various diet-dependent cues to coordinate tissue behavior with the physiology of the organism.