The Role of Dbcl11 in Drosophila Muscle Formation. Wiley Barton, Jennifer Elwell, Erica Baca, Richard Cripps. Biology, University of New Mexico, ALbuquerque, NM.

   Myoblasts, the precursors to mature muscles, undergo mitotic proliferation until specific cues initiate differentiation. From the expression pattern of Dbcl11 within muscle specific tissue, we have identified the gene as a potential regulator for this critical developmental process. Overexpression of Dbcl11 resulted in irregular muscle formation that was observed through the visualization of these structures in late stage embryogenesis. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) was used to demonstrate that Dbcl11 protein adheres to a known binding site for the mammalian ortholog of the gene, suggesting the capacity for molecular interaction with other genes. Dbcl11 was shown to regulate Dap (dacapo), a Drosophila gene that encodes an inhibitor of cyclin-dependant kinase similar to p21, a target of the mammalian homolog of Dbcl11. In situ hybridization of late stage embryos with upregulated Dbcl11 illustrated reduced levels of dap, indicating its inhibition by Dbcl11. Our results reveal an influential role of Dbcl11 in the process of muscle development. Due to the high conservation of these genes, our studies will yield insight into the process of human muscle development.