Neuroglian, a molecule identified in the fruit fly, is a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily which consists of a large number of proteins that share a common repeated structure/functional domain: the immunoglobulin-like domain. Members of this family play important roles in cell recognition and cell adhesion in the developing brain and nervous system. Although a large number of immunoglobulin-like molecules have been characterized, the mechanisms of action of these molecules is not fully understood. Molecular genetics, tissue culture, protein purification and X-ray crystallography will by applied to define specific functional domains in the neuroglian molecule and to describe the structure of these domains. A complete analysis of the structure and function of fruit fly neuroglian will advance our general understanding of the mechanism of action of immunoglobulin-like cell adhesion molecules. These studies relate not only to mechanisms underlying nervous system development, but also to more general mechanisms involved in cell adhesion and cell recognition in other tissues.
