Glycobiology Advance Access published online on September 29, 2008
Glycobiology, doi:10.1093/glycob/cwn096
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Published by Oxford University Press 2008.
Review |
Glycobiology on the Fly: Developmental and Mechanistic Insights from Drosophila
2 Developmental Glycobiology Unit, NIDCR, National Institutes of Health, Building 30, Room 426, 30 Convent Drive, MSC 4370, Bethesda, MD 20892-4370
3 Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Old Medical School, Room 4819, Charlottesville, VA 22903
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. Fax: 301-402-0897, Email: Kelly.Tenhagen{at}nih.gov
Received on August 15, 2008; accepted on September 23, 2008
Drosophila melanogaster offers many unique advantages for deciphering the complexities of glycan biosynthesis and function. The completion of the Drosophila genome sequencing project as well as the comprehensive catalogue of existing mutations and phenotypes has lead to a prolific database where many of the genes involved in glycan synthesis, assembly, modification and recognition have been identified and characterized. Recent biochemical and molecular studies have elucidated the structure of the glycans present in Drosophila. Powerful genetic approaches have uncovered a number of critical biological roles for glycans during development that impact on our understanding of their function during mammalian development. Here, we summarize key recent findings and provide evidence for the usefulness of this model organism in unraveling the complexities of glycobiology across many species.
Key words: Glycosylation / Drosophila / development