Programming the Drosophila embryo

Area of Science:

• Developmental biology
• Evolutionary developmental biology
• Computational biology

Background:

• Understanding developmental mechanisms requires defining molecular, cellular, and organismal steps.
• Predicting embryonic development and evolutionary history from the egg is a key goal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a quantitative computational method for modeling early Drosophila embryogenesis.
• To create a tool integrating theory and experiment for studying developmental genetic network evolution.

Main Methods:

• Applied chemical and engineering methods for modeling hierarchical systems.
• Integrated current theory and experimental data into a computational model.
• Developed a quantitative calculation tool for personal computers.

Main Results:

• Successfully modeled early Drosophila embryogenesis.
• Created a tool useful for both experimentalists and theoreticians.
• Enabled the study of developmental genetic network evolution.

Conclusions:

• The developed engineering model computes genetic network cascades in organisms.
• This tool facilitates applying current theory to experimental data for studying developmental program evolution.