Meeting Abstract
In many animal species, the first line of restricted germ cells (Primordial Germ Cells) are formed in a location independent from the site of gonad development. In these species, the germ cells must migrate to the future gonad location before they are incorporated into the developing gonads. In some animals, such as Drosophila melanogaster, the tissue where PGCs will end up has already been specified when the PGCs begin migrating. However, in other animals, including the hemipteran insect, Oncopeltus fasciatus, PGCs begin migrating before the cells of their final resting place have been formed or been given an identity. In this insect, the mechanisms used by PGCs to find their location while the abdominal segments are growing and being specified around them remain unknown. Similarly, during this process, whether PGCs exhibit active cell migration and/or passive movement driven by the surrounding tissue that is growing is an open question. As a first step towards elucidating these mechanisms, we aim to characterize the cellular dynamics of PGCs moving through the surrounding embryonic tissue. We also aim to determine the molecular identity of the directional cues that eventually guide PGCs to the correct abdominal segments. Here we present progress on (1) a quantitative description of PGC migration, and (2) a candidate gene approach to determine the molecular basis of this process.
