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Happy 40th anniversary to the #Drosophila hedgehog gene!
OTD 40 years ago, Nusslein-Volhard and Wieschaus published an article that among other things, reported identification of a mutation in a gene they named “hedgehog” (hh) https://www.nature.com/articles/287795a0
Nusslein-Volhard and Wieschaus share a personal account of the genetic screens that led to identification of hh and >100 other genes involved in similar processes in
“The Heidelberg Screen for Pattern Mutants of Drosophila: A Personal Account” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27501451/
“The Heidelberg Screen for Pattern Mutants of Drosophila: A Personal Account” https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27501451/
The gene was so-named because the cuticle of hedgehog mutant fly larvae kinda-sorta look like hedgehogs. Short and fuzzy.
Why do we care?
Well, there was that Nobel Prize thing … https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1995/summary/
Why do we care?
Well, there was that Nobel Prize thing … https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/1995/summary/
And .. turns out, the hedgehog gene encodes a protein conserved through evolution. The natural world invented hh once, then kept refining and using it over and over again.
There are three ‘orthologs’ or relatives of Drosophila hh in the human genome. Read here the origin of the name given to one of three human hh-related genes
https://www.mdlinx.com/article/how-sonic-the-hedgehog-became-a-cancer-fighter/lfc-1725
https://www.mdlinx.com/article/how-sonic-the-hedgehog-became-a-cancer-fighter/lfc-1725
From the studies in #Drosophila and other species, we learned that Hh family proteins are part of a system that helps cells communicate information.
Cell-cell communication is important for development, the process by which a fertilized egg becomes a properly organized multicellular creature.
“Hey, over here, we’ll be the front end!”
“OK, got it. We’ll form the back end!”
“Hey, over here, we’ll be the front end!”
“OK, got it. We’ll form the back end!”
What happens when cell-cell communication goes wrong? Disruption of Hh signaling in humans is associated with genetic diseases and cancer.
Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3797650/
Read more here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3797650/
By finding the hedgehog mutant larva, and following where it led, biologists uncovered new understandings that resulted in new treatments for disease.
What studies of today and tomorrow will be celebrated in another 40 years? Only time will tell.
Could there be a place for you in making the next discoveries? Yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
Could there be a place for you in making the next discoveries? Yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
