Biology ETDs

Publication Date

Spring 5-1-2025

Abstract

Behaviors like sleep and foraging depend on diverse neural circuits, shaped by spatiotemporal gene expression during development. This dissertation explores how hormonal signaling and transcription factor E93 regulate neurodevelopment in Drosophila to generate dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB) neurons critical for sleep and metabolism. Chapter 1 shows 23E10 dFB neurons arise from type II neural stem cells (NSCs) DL1/DM1, requiring ecdysone signaling and E93 for specification. Disrupting ecdysone signaling, or E93, in type II NSCs causes neuronal defects and sleep deficits, establishing E93 as a temporal determinant linking hormonal cues to sleep circuit maturation. Chapter 2 focuses on 84C10 dFB neurons that regulate metabolism, derived from DL1/DM4 type II NSCs and requiring E93 for specification. E93 is expressed post-mitotically in these neurons; its loss disrupts dFB innervation, eliminates sugar preference, and suppresses diet-induced triglyceride accumulation. Overall, this dissertation highlights E93’s essential role in specifying dFB neurons that regulate sleep and metabolism.

Language

English

Keywords

Neural development, dFB neurons, EcR, ecdysone signaling, type II NSCs, sleep, E93

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Biology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

UNM Biology Department

First Committee Member (Chair)

Dr. Mubarak Hussain Syed

Second Committee Member

Dr. Robert D. Miller

Third Committee Member

Dr. Christopher Johnston

Fourth Committee Member

Dr. Matthew Kayser

Comments

Embargo is currently pending.

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Available for download on Monday, May 17, 2027

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