Our colleagues are able to grow viable oocytes in culture so we will investigate the function of the mammalian genes in cultured follicles. We will use the full resources of the Drosophila genome and Human Genome Project and the information available for mouse. We have access to microarrays to determine which of the TGFa and b ligands and receptors are expressed when and where in the mouse follicle in a central facility at Edinburgh, for which I am on the Steering Committee. This project therefore enables a student to look at the physiological basis of producing fertile oocytes by paracrine signalling in mammals, using the full range of techniques of functional genomics. Control of oocyte maturation in sexually mature Drosophila females.
VI is required for egg chamber and imaginal disc morphogenesis.
J. Cell Sci. The function of the Broad-Complex during Drosophila oogenesis. Genetics 153, 1371-1383. Misexpression of argos, an inhibitor of EGFR signaling in oogenesis, leads to the production of bicephalic, ventralized, and lateralized Drosophila melanogaster eggs. Gen. 25, 375-386.