EMBRIOphytes,

🧬 New Publications Alert!

Publications Highlight:

📄 Gαq controls organ size and developmental timing in Drosophila 

Unger, M.F., Velagala, V., Soundarrajan, D.K. et al. Gαq controls organ size and developmental timing in Drosophila. Cell Commun Signal 23, 457 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12964-025-02449-9

Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model, the team uncovered how the G protein alpha subunit Gαq regulates epithelial growth and developmental timing. Overexpression of Gαq in wing discs led to reduced wing size and systemic developmental delay—mediated by Ca²⁺-dependent Dilp8 signaling.

🧠 Key findings:
•Gαq overexpression decreases cell proliferation and apoptosis
•Activates JAK/STAT and stress-response pathways
•Triggers secretion of Dilp8, a hormone coordinating growth and timing
•Links GPCR signaling to systemic developmental coordination

💡 Why it matters:
This work sheds light on how Gαq signaling influences organ size and timing, with implications for understanding diseases like Sturge-Weber syndrome and uveal melanoma, where Gαq mutations are prevalent.

👏 Congrats to the team: Maria F. Unger, Vijay Velagala, Dharsan K. Soundarrajan, David Gazzo, Nilay Kumar, Marycruz Flores Flores, Jinwen Liu, Jun Li & Jeremiah J. Zartman.

Upcoming All-Hands Labs (3PM ET):

Thanks again to Linlin Li (Sr. Research Scientist, Umulis Lab) and Shenyu Lu (Ph.D. student in Joy Wang Lab) for presenting their collaborative findings and future plans last Monday: "AI-POWERED ACCELERATION AND PARAMETER TUNING FOR COMPUTATIONAL MODELING” . The video recording, transcript, and summary notes are available on our shared Box account: https://app.box.com/s/ftdi5zwn7040mhigbn8e5qs5ha8ecgm5

Awards:

👏 Congratulations to David Gazzo (Zartman Lab) who won a Graduate Student Travel Award from BMES to participate in the Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) conference this coming January.