Analysis of nucleokinetics in the Drosophila wing disc
Emily Jo Miller
Understanding the mechanics of proliferation in epithelia is an important but technically challenging problem in developmental biology. My work focuses on the role of cortical Myosin II activity in controlling the movement of the nucleus to the apical epithelial surface, or nucleokinetics, during mitosis. In order to explain this phenomenon, we have used kinase inhibitors to disrupt Myosin II in vivo. Our preliminary analyses suggest that Myosin II plays an important role in the onset of mitosis by controlling the final steps of nuclear positioning.