Morgan Bonds, M.D.

she/her

Education: Bachelor of Science in chemical science (May 2008)

Doctor of Medicine specializing in general surgery from Johns Hopkins University

McNair Project: Regulation of the ind Homeobox and Dorsalventral Patterning of Drosophila Embryos (2006)

Mentor: Tonia Von Ohlen, Ph.D.

Expression of the ind homeodomain protein in the Drosophila embryo is regulated by the global dorsalventral patterning pathways Dorsal, Egfr, and Dpp. It is also regulated by Vnd; Vnd limits the expansion of ind ventrally by its position on the ventral border of ind. We searched the Exelixis deficiency collection out of Bloomington, Indiana for mutated expression of Ind. We found deficiencies that deleted known components of the signaling pathways had mutated or lost ind expression; these deficiencies removed screw, dpp, and egfr. We also found a pair of overlapping deficiencies that gave us ventralized embryos. Transheterozygotes of these two deficiencies were also ventralized. The overlap contained seven genes including CG11582 which encodes a twisted gastrulation like protein. These two deficiency also resembles the shrew mutants. A transheterozygote of shrew mutants and these deficiencies resembled the shrew mutant as well. We are now characterizing these deficiencies to identify the genes responsible for shrew phenotype.