Protein glycosylation in development, physiology and disease: Revealing functional mechanisms usingDrosophila model
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abstract
Our project investigates fundamental biological principles of protein glycosylation that operate in insects and vertebrate animals.These principles include both evolutionarily conserved mechanisms, as well as species-specific cellular and molecularprocesses that operate differently in plants, insects and vertebrate animals. Revealing these mechanisms will allow to designnew compounds and protocols to specifically affect insect but not mammalian or plant physiology, or environment, thusproviding important tools to control invertebrate pests and parasites of agriculturally important plants and animals. The pathways that we study are involved in stress responses and maintenance of muscle health, and thus our research can suggest dietary,genetic, behavioral and environmental approaches that can improve husbandry practices, production and resistance ofagricultural species to stress conditions. Finally, our research is expected to suggest ways to manage neurological conditions,such as stress and fatigue, which should help farmers and ranchers to withstand various stresses associated with their profession.The majority of proteins in animal cells are glycosylated. Glycan modifications represent the most abundant and structurallycomplex posttranslational modifications of proteins. These modifications have numerous important functions in animalorganisms, regulating growth, differentiation, and morphogenesis during development..........
