Biological Sciences Colloquium: Claudia Rodriguez

Claudia Rodriguez, graduate student of Biological Sciences at UW-Milwaukee, will present a talk about her work entitled, “An alternative mode of signal transduction by the EGL-15 FGF receptor in Caenorhabditis elegans.”

The abstract is as follows:

“How is an animal body built and maintained? The answers lie in animal development, which is regulated by cell signaling modules present in every animal, from worms to mammals. One of these modules involves Fibroblast Growth Factors (FGFs) and their receptors (FGFRs), which stimulate Ras and the downstream kinases Raf, MEK, and ERK.  The Caenorhabditis elegans FGFR, termed EGL-15, is required in the sex myoblasts (SMs) for their cell migration during post-embryonic development, and in the hypodermis (Hyp7) for homeostatic fluid balance throughout life. To investigate cell-specific differences between the SMs and Hyp7, we used the kinase reporter ERK-KTR to assess activation of ERK. We found that EGL-15 utilized different signaling mechanisms in the SMs and Hyp7 and identified the IRS/DOK-like protein SOC-3 as required for EGL-15 signaling in Hyp7. This work highlights how one receptor can use cell-specific signaling mechanisms to achieve diverse developmental outcomes.”

The presentation will begin at 4:00 PM in Lapham Hall N101, preceded by an informal reception from 3:45 – 4:00 PM.