Document Type
Honors Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2025
Abstract
Actin proteins play an important role in microfilaments, one of the three components of the cytoskeleton of the cell. The actin protein is responsible for cellular functions such as with their role in neuromuscular junctions. The dynamics of these proteins can be further explored with manipulation of polymerization through the treatment of a biochemical drug, Cytochalasin D. This fungal toxin caps the ends of actin filaments, destabilizing them by inhibiting G- and F-actin monomers from binding. Treating Drosophila in their early embryonic stage with this drug after permeabilization can give insights on the importance of actin proteins at neuromuscular junctions during an organism's development. In a larval crawling assay, it is hypothesized to cause the treated larvae to have disordered movement, which would result in slower speeds in crawling trials. Three trials were performed for 15 control larvae and 15 experimental larvae, each having three runs per larvae. This assay resulted in the experimental larvae having faster crawling times. Run three showed a closer mean average crawl time, with significance between the control and the experimental larvae. Compensatory mechanisms and chemotaxis may be viable explanations for the results. This experimental research can assist in the understanding of dynamics of actin filaments and how it relates to neural development. This in turn can be used in further research to understand the role of actin motor disorders and neural defects.
Advisor
Hunkar Gizem Yesilyurt
Recommended Citation
Noguera, Airyel, "Effects of Cytochalasin D on Motor Function in Drosophila" (2025). Honors Theses. 276.
https://digitalcommons.tamuc.edu/honorstheses/276
Keywords
actin proteins, neural development, motor disorders, neural defects
