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Determining The Genetic Control Of Neural Tube Malformation Through Genetic Interactions With Idgf3, Elli N. Fox
Determining The Genetic Control Of Neural Tube Malformation Through Genetic Interactions With Idgf3, Elli N. Fox
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Genetic mutations disrupting human neural tube formation can lead to birth defects such as spina bifida and anencephaly. Defects can result in lack of neural tube closure in either the caudal (spina bifida) or cranial (anencephaly) regions. Little is known about the genes that cause these malformations. Researchers have been using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster in an attempt to determine genes responsible for neural tube malformations. Recently, an ortholog of human chitin-like protein, imaginal disc growth factor 3 (Idgf3), has been identified as important in the proper formation of Drosophila egg dorsal appendages. However, the molecular mechanism responsible for …