Studying the role of SUMOylation in the development of Drosophila imaginal discs.
Kiki Kanakousaki
Animal development requires not only transcription and translation of thousands of important regulatory molecules, but also their modification by post-translational mechanisms such as phosphorylation, proteolytic cleavage, or ubiquitination. SUMOylation is a post-translational protein modification proposed to impact on many cellular processes, although the role of SUMOylation at the organismal level and in broad processes like development is not well understood. In a genetic screen we found a novel mutation in a key component of the biochemical pathway of SUMO conjugation. This mutation dramatically affected the growth of imaginal discs, although many other larval structures were unperturbed. Using genetics, biochemistry, cytometry and imaging, we analyzed the phenotype and found that mutants cells exhibit reduced levels of SUMOylation and defects in mitosis. Our goal is to understand the pathways and proteins affected by SUMOylation, leading to the observed phenotype.