Protecting Immortality: Germ Line Development in Drosophila
2017
Ruth Lehmann
Summary of the science
Within an organism’s sex organs are special cells known as germ cells. These germ cells can eventually become a whole organism by giving rise to sperm and egg cells which fuse to become an embryo. These germ cells represent the beginning of every organism and so need to have all of the information eventually required by the organism and methods for passing this down to other cells. The Lehmann lab investigate how germ cells work to understand these key functions.
About the research
The Lehmann lab researches how germ cells develop. Germ cells are special as they can result in the generation of a whole organism, so key questions in their research is how they can maintain their ‘immortality’: how are they protected from cell death, how do they transmit information with fidelity over many cellular lineages, and how can they pass on cytoplasmic components that need to be maintained.
About the illustration