2014 Photomicrography Competition

Artboard 1

Image of Distinction

2014 Photomicrography Competition

Salivary gland cells from a fruit fly showing cell boundaries (white) and genomic DNA (red)

Dr. Justin Joseph Cassidy

Affiliation
Northwestern University
Department of Molecular Biosciences
Evanston, Illinois, USA
Technique
Confocal
Magnifaction
20

Salivary gland cells from a fruit fly showing cell boundaries (white) and genomic DNA (red). This animal is mutant for a non-coding RNA called miRNA-7. This genetic defect causes a disruption in cell polarity causing the membrane to ‘bubble.’ Human cancers often exhibit similar changes in cell shape and disruptions in the human miRNA-7 gene are often found in metastatic tumors.