# Generation of Diverse Centrosomes, Cilia and Flagellae During Development

> **NIH NIH R01** · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2022 · $502,112

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Centrioles are required to template cilia and flagella and to organize centrosomes that nucleate
cytoplasmic microtubules in interphase and dividing cells. Centrosomes lose their ability to organise
cytoplasmic microtubules when they become basal bodies, which can template the formation of
primary cilia for signalling or flagellae for propelling sperm. To understand these diverse roles, it
necessary to study centrioles in the development of different cell types. Yet, their replication, structure
and function has been largely studied in cultured cells. Here we take advantage of the genetic and
developmental advantages of Drosophila to study centriole function in two cell types; cells destined to
make neurosensory cilia in the leg imaginal disc and male germ line cells destined to generate sperm.
 Our focus is on the roles of a network of centriole proteins in which Ana3, counterpart of human
ROTATIN and Rcd4, PPP1R35 in human cells, interact with each other and with a set of proteins
required for various steps of the elongation and maturation of the centriole necessary for it to become
a basal body. Specifically, we will: (i) apply molecular and structural biology approaches to determine
how the Ana3 and Rcd4 proteins interact with each other and with other centriole proteins to specify
different aspects of centriole assembly and function and how this is regulated by phosphorylation. We
will test the functions of these interactions through directed mutagenesis. (ii) use genetic approaches
to determine inter-dependencies of the networks that regulate centriole elongation in the conventional
cell division cycles of cultured cells and the leg imaginal disc and in cells that develop neurosensory
cilia. (iii) determine the differential roles of Rcd4 and Ana3 and their interacting network of proteins in
the multiple steps leading to formation of the giant centrioles of spermatocytes and their sequential
roles in generating primary cilia and subsequently sperm flagellae.,
 Because centriole duplication pathways are highly conserved between Drosophila and man, our findings
will shed light onto a wide range of human diseases including cancer, where centrosome defects indicate
poor prognosis; heritable ciliopathies, which affect centrioles and cilia in a wide range of tissues; and in
microcephaly, where defects in proteins such as ROTATIN, whose counterpart we study here, lead to
abnormal brain development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10337138
- **Project number:** 5R01NS113930-03
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** David M Glover
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $502,112
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-05-15 → 2025-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10337138

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10337138, Generation of Diverse Centrosomes, Cilia and Flagellae During Development (5R01NS113930-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10337138. Licensed CC0.

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