Summary of the science
Cells do not have defined sexes but they can be sex-specific. Each sex-specific identity determines which genes are turned on and which ones aren't. The genes that are expressed in one sex differ from those expressed in the other. The Miguel-Aliaga lab has found that these sex-specific identities are present in cells in the intestine and play an important role in allowing the intestine to move and change shape.
About the research
The Miguel-Aliaga lab investigates the plasticity of adult organs, utilising the intestine of Drosophila melanogaster as their selected model system. They use a genetic approach to perturb neurons and observe how changes to nervous signalling affect the adult organ. A major finding in the lab are the differences observed at a cellular level in the intestine. Intestinal stem cells exhibit a sex-specific identity, which has been found to play a pivotal role in organ size and plasticity and results from distinct gene expression profiles.
About the illustration
The research underlying this talk is concerned with differences in gene expression between different sexes so we chose to use the classic male and female symbols covered in bar charts of different distributions as a reference to visualisations of gene expression. To tie in the study system of the intestine, we had the idea of having the circles within the male/female symbols as a cross-section of an intestine, which you can see trailing into the background.