Amy Bejsovec, Associate Professor  

Amy Bejsovec

Education:
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988

Office Location: FFSC: 4312
Office Phone: (919) 613-8162
Email Address: amy.bejsovec@duke.edu

Specialties:
Cell and Molecular Biology
Developmental Biology
Genetics

Research Categories: Genetic control of cell fate specification in Drosophila

Research Description: Our research explores the molecular mechanisms of pattern formation in developing embryos. We focus on the Wingless(Wg)/Wnt class of secreted growth factor: these molecules promote cell-cell communication leading to important cell fate decisions during the development of both vertebrate and invertebrate embryos. In addition, the Wnt signaling pathway is essential for maintaining stem cell populations and is associated with cancer when inappropriately activated in adult tissues. Wg/Wnt molecules have proven difficult to work with biochemically because they associate tightly with cell membranes. Therefore, we exploit the powerful genetic and molecular techniques available in Drosophila to approach basic questions about Wg/Wnt signal transduction. Current work in the lab includes analysis of several genes discovered as suppressors or enhancers of wg mutant phenotypes, which may encode new components of the pathway. We had previously shown that the Wg-activated transcription factor, dTCF, can act as either a repressor or an activator of Wg target genes, and we have recently found other factors that may control this genetic switch. We have also characterized a Drosophila homolog of the human tumor suppressor, APC, which negatively regulates the Wg/Wnt signaling pathway, and we are currently characterizing other genes that show similar properties. In addition, we have discovered that active cellular processes are responsible for distributing the Wg protein throughout the cells of the epidermal epithelium. This novel ligand transport pathway may be essential to the function of all Wnt molecules, since mutations in Wg that disrupt the transport process alter residues that are highly conserved throughout the Wnt family.

Representative Publications   (More Publications)   (search)

  1. SL Gregory, S Ebrahimi, J Milverton, WM Jones, A Bejsovec, R Saint, Cell division requires a direct link between microtubule-bound RacGAP and Anillin in the contractile ring., Current Biology, vol. 18 (2008), pp. 25-29  [abs].
  2. AT Chao, WM Jones, A Bejsovec, The HMG-box transcription factor SoxNeuro acts with Tcf to control Wg/Wnt signaling activity., Development,, vol. 134 (2007), pp. 989-997 (ISSN: 0950-1991.) [dev.02796v1]  [abs].
  3. A. Bejsovec, Flying at the head of the pack: Wnt biology in Drosophila, Oncogene, vol. 25 (2006), pp. 7442-7449  [abs].
  4. McCartney, B.M., Price, M.H., Webb, R., Hayden, M., Holot, L., Zhou, M., Bejsovec, A. and Peifer, M., Testing hypotheses for the functions of APC family proteins using null and truncation alleles in Drosophila, Development, vol. 133 (2006), pp. 2407-2418 [2407] .
  5. Zavortink, M., Contreras, N., Addy, T., Bejsovec, A. and Saint, R., TumRacGAP50C provides a critical link between anaphase microtubules and the assembly of the contractile ring in Drosophila melanogaster., J. Cell Science, vol. 118 (2005), pp. 5381-5392 [5381] .
  6. Jones, W.M. and A. Bejsovec, RacGap50C negatively regulates Wingless pathway activity during Drosophila embryonic development, Genetics, vol. 169 (2005), pp. 2075-2086 [2075]  [abs].
  7. A. Bejsovec, Wnt pathway activation: new relations and locations, Cell, vol. 120 (2005), pp. 11-14. Review  [abs].
  8. Jones, W.M. and Bejsovec, A., Wingless signaling: an Axin to grind, Current Biology, vol. 13 (2003), pp. R479-R481 .
  9. Chao, A.T., Dierick, H.A., Addy, T.M. and Bejsovec, A., Mutations in eukaryotic release factors 1 and 3 act as general nonsense suppressors in Drosophila, Genetics, vol. 165 (2003), pp. 601-612 [601] .
  10. Ostrowski, S., Dierick, H.A. and Bejsovec, A., Genetic control of cuticle formation during embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster., Genetics, vol. 161 (2002), pp. 171-182 [171] .
  11. McCartney, B.M., McEwen, D.G., Grevengoed, E., Maddox, P., Bejsovec, A., and Peifer, M., Drosophila APC2 and Armadillo participate in tethering mitotic spindles to cortical actin, Nature Cell Biology, vol. 3 (2001), pp. 933-938 .
  12. Moline, M.M., Dierick, H.A., Southern, C. and Bejsovec, A., Non-equivalent roles of Drosophila Frizzled and Frizzled2 in embryonic Wingless signal transduction., Current Biology, vol. 10 (2000), pp. 1127-1130 .

Duke Biology Box 90338 Durham, NC 27708 Phone: 919-660-7372 Fax: 919-660-7293