Biology Faculty Publishes Article on Fruit Fly Signaling and Developmental Proteins

This spring, Halmos Biology faculty member Santanu De, Ph.D. published an article titled “The 14-3-3 (YWHA) Proteins in Signalling and Development of the Fruit Fly, Drosophila melanogaster” in the International Annals of Science. This journal publishes original research in all areas of science and technology which include Computer, Mathematics, Physical, Chemical, Biological, Environmental and Earth Sciences.

The 14-3-3 are a family of proteins critical to diverse cellular events and are conserved from plants to animals, including humans.  Drosophila is one of the most universally accepted model systems to study complex cellular mechanisms of signalling and development.  However, regulation of these processes in fruit flies by the 14-3-3 proteins have not been entirely understood.  This paper, for the first time, reviews the expression, distribution, interactions and regulatory roles of the 14-3-3 proteins in Drosophila.  The analysis would help elucidate some of the molecular bases of key cell-signaling mechanisms and development.