The objective of this research is to characterize the role of tudor, a Drosophila melanogaster maternal effect locus, in two central events of early embryogenesis, germ cell determination and abdomen segmentation. The experimental approach is designed to determine the mechanisms that specify the spatial and temporal patterns of tudor product distribution during oogenesis and embryogenesis. This will involve: 1) comparison of tudor mRNA and protein distribution during germ cell formation and anterior/ posterior axis establishment in wild type and maternal effect mutant embryos; 2) determination of the RNA and/or protein sequences responsible for localization of tudor products to the embryonic posterior pole; and 3) determination whether tudor expression is required in late embryogenesis. Experimental objectives will be carried out by introduction and expression of modified tudor gene constructs in transgenic animals. These studies are expected to contribute to general understanding of molecular mechanism(s) of embryonic cell fate determination.
