Seth Blair

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  The basal end of cell and tissue morphogenesis
  Seth Blair

  Many crucial events that regulate the development of the Drosophila wing, including junctional tension, growth control and planar cell polarity, are concentrated in the apical region of the wing’s epithelial cells. In recent years my laboratory has centered much of its work on these apical events, and especially the role of the apically localized protocadherins Fat and Dachsous and their downstream effectors. However, we have also been examining the roles of the basal end of these cells, which are equally critical for various signaling and morphogenetic events. I will present data on the basal extracellular matrix, the extracellular matrix metalloproteinases, and the basal cell processes of imaginal discs and pupal wings. and discuss new data about their ability to regulate BMP signaling, wing disc morphogenesis, and the peculiar basal-to-basal tubulogenesis of wing vein formation.