Professor of Biochemistry & Biophysics, UNC-CH Adjunct Professor of Biology Member of Program in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology Member of Neuroscience Research Center PHD - California Inst. of Technology (click for Full Publication List)

HONORS & AWARDS

RESEARCH

Summary:

The long-term goal of our research program is to comprehensively understand the molecular basis of Drosophila CNS development. This currentlyinvolves studying how CNS midline neuronal and glial precursors form, how they differentiate into specific neuronal and glial cell types, and how glia interact with axons. My laboratory has studied the Drosophila CNS midline cells since its inception 25 years ago with special attention paid to how transcriptional regulatory proteins control midline cell development. Much of our early work studied the Drosophila single-minded gene, the master regulator of CNS midline cell development. In recent years, we have utilized molecular and cellular approaches to pioneer understanding of Drosophila CNS midline development. Our lab is uniquely positioned to capitalize on our previous work to provide a comprehensive description of the regulatory circuitry that governs the development of midline neurons and glia. Recent work has focused on the formation and differentiation of the H-cell midline dopaminergic neuron, the role of Notch signaling in binary midline cell fate decisions (neuron/glial and neuronal cell fate), how midline glia are partitioned into ensheathing and non-ensheathing glial subtypes, and midline glial migration and glial:axon interactions. We are also employing high-throughput sequencing approaches and large-scale analysis of enhancers that drive midline expression to more comprehensively study midline cell development.

Core Techniques:

Drosophila, genetics, Immunostaining and in situ hybridization, Confocal microscopy, High-throughput RNA sequencing, Transgenic analysis, Bioinformatics

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

• Jiang L, Rogers SL, Crews ST. The Drosophila Dead end Arf-like3 GTPase controls vesicle trafficking during tracheal fusion cell morphogenesis. Dev Biol. 2007 Nov 15;311(2):487-99.
• Jiang L, Crews ST. Transcriptional specificity of Drosophila dysfusion and the control of tracheal fusion cell gene expression. J Biol Chem. 2007 Sep 28;282(39):28659-68.
• Crews ST, Brenman JE. Spineless provides a little backbone for dendritic morphogenesis. Genes Dev. 2006 Oct 15;20(20):2773-8. Review.
• Jiang L, Crews ST. Dysfusion transcriptional control of Drosophila tracheal migration, adhesion, and fusion. Mol Cell Biol. 2006 Sep;26(17):6547-56.
• Wheeler SR, Kearney JB, Guardiola AR, Crews ST. Single-cell mapping of neural and glial gene expression in the developing Drosophila CNS midline cells. Dev Biol. 2006 Jun 15;294(2):509-24.

CONTACT INFO

321 Fordham Hall
Campus Box 3280

Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Office: 919.962.4380
Lab: 919.962.3155
Fax: 919.966.4296

steve_crews@unc.edu

Crews Lab Website