Research
Research in the DAISY Lab focuses on some of the fascinating questions in developmental and systems biology using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as the model organism. Students have the opportunity to train in the research methods of genetics, genomics, developmental, cell, and molecular biology using a versatile and powerful model organism.
Developmental Dynamics
How do embryos transform cells and matrices into exquisitely functioning biological tubes?
Animal life cycle begins as a single cell. Rounds of division result in a cellular multitude. During embryonic stages, the cellular multitude, working in concert with the extracellular matrix (an organized meshwork of secreted proteins), undergoes a remarkable transformation to assemble tissues and organs—many of them shaped into tubes and forming tubular networks. The majority of our tissues and organs are composed of networks of tubes. Notable examples are the heart, blood vessels, lungs, kidneys, and the gut. Even the brain and spinal cord are tubular tissues! Tubulogenesis is, hence, the cornerstone of embryogenesis. Vital physiological processes, i.e., fluid storage, secretion, absorption, exchange, and transport that support animal development and survival are dependent on biological tubes. Learning about the fundamental cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern how the embryo transforms cells and matrices into exquisitely functioning biological tubes is, therefore, of paramount importance to furthering our understanding of life-building biological processes. We investigate simple tubulogenesis in the embryonic salivary gland and branching morphogenesis in the embryonic trachea.
The fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) embryo is one-half of a millimeter long. That is roughly one twelfth the length of a single grain of Basmati rice. The prominent (left) jalapeño-shaped tubes—each about one twentieth of a millimeter long and assembled by just under 150 cells with their associated matrices—are the developing salivary glands.
Integrative Systems Biology
1) What is the role of cell surface transporters in tubular organ morphogenesis?
Transporter proteins are critical for the maintenance of cellular ion homeostasis. Yet their requirements and contributions to embryonic development are only beginning to be explored. Using tubular organ morphogenesis as the developmental context, we investigate the role of a cation transporter (Malvolio, the Drosophila ortholog of vertebrate SLC11A2 protein) to learn how the molecular and cell biological mechanisms of an ion transporter regulate organ assembly.
2) How do systemic physiological responses impact stem cell homeostasis?
Stem cell homeostasis is impacted by both local and systemic factors. The role of systemic signals for mediating stem cell homeostasis is not as well understood as that of local signaling. Using exercise training response as a systemic physiological stimulus, we study stem cell homeostatic mechanisms in the Drosophila gut and germline.
PUBLICATIONS {Student trainees highlighted}
Organogenetic transcriptomes of the Drosophila embryo at single cell resolution [Download]
Development (2024), 151 (2): dev202097. doi: 10.1242/dev.202097. PMID: 38174902
Peng, D., Jackson, D., Palicha, B., Kernfeld, E., Laughner, N., Shoemaker, A., Celniker, S.E., Loganathan, R., Cahan, P., Andrew, D.J.
Ribbon boosts ribosomal protein gene expression to coordinate organ form and function [Download]
Journal of Cell Biology (2022), 221 (4), e202110073.
Loganathan, R., Levings, D.C., Kim, J.H., Wells, M.B., Chiu, H., Wu, Y., Slattery, M., Andrew, D.J.
Secrets of secretion—how studies of the Drosophila salivary gland have informed our understanding of the cellular networks underlying secretory organ form and function [Download]
Current Topics in Developmental Biology (2021), volume 143.
Loganathan, R., Kim, J.H., Wells, M. B., Andrew, D.J.
CrebA increases secretory capacity through direct transcriptional regulation of the secretory machinery, a subset of secretory cargo, and other key regulators [Download]
Traffic (2020), 21 (9), 560-577.
Johnson, D.M., Wells, M.B., Fox, R., Lee, J.S., Loganathan, R., Levings, D., Bastien, A., Slattery, M., Andrew, D.J.
Extracellular matrix dynamics in tubulogenesis [Download]
Cell Signal (2020); 72:109619.
Loganathan, R., Rongish, B.J., Little, C.D.
Organogenesis of the Drosophila respiratory system [Download]
In: Hombria, J.C. & Bovolenta, P. (Eds.), Organogenetic gene networks — Genetic Control of Organ Formation (2016), pp. 151-211. Springer International Publishing, Switzerland. ISBN-13: 978-3319427652. ISBN-10: 3319427652.
Loganathan, R., Cheng, Y. L., Andrew, D.J.
Extracellular matrix motion and early morphogenesis [Download]
Development (2016), 143 (12), 2056-2065.
Loganathan, R., Rongish, B.J., Smith, C.M., Filla, M.B., Czirok, A., Bénazéraf, B., Little, C.D.
Ribbon regulates morphogenesis of the Drosophila embryonic salivary gland through transcriptional activation and repression [Download]
Developmental Biology (2016), 409 (1), 234-50.
Loganathan, R., Lee, J.S., Wells, M.B., Grevengoed, E., Slattery, M., Andrew, D.J.
Identification of emergent motion compartments in the amniote embryo [Download]
Organogenesis (2014), 10 (4), 350-364.
Loganathan, R., Little, C.D., Joshi, P., Filla, M.B., Cheuvront, T.J., Lansford, R., Rongish, B.J.
The role of sleep in motor learning [Download]
Journal of Postdoctoral Research (2014), 2(4), 18-29.
Loganathan, R.
Spatial anisotropies and temporal fluctuations in the extracellular matrix network texture during early embryogenesis [Download]
PLOS ONE (2012), 7 (5): e38266.
Loganathan, R., Potetz, B.R., Rongish, B.J., Little, C.D.
Exercise induced cardiac performance in autoimmune (type 1) diabetes is associated with a decrease in myocardial diacylglycerol [Download]
Journal of Applied Physiology (2012), 113 (5), 817-826.
Loganathan, R., Novikova, L., Boulatnikov, I., Smirnova, I.V.
Time–dependent alterations in rat macrovessels with type 1 diabetes [Download]
Experimental Diabetes Research (2012), 278620.
Searls, Y., Smirnova, I.V., Vanhoose, L., Fegley, B., Loganathan, R., Stehno-Bittel, L.
Electrocardiographic changes with the onset of diabetes and the impact of aerobic exercise training in the Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) rat [Download]
Cardiovascular Diabetology (2010), 9:56.
VanHoose, L., Sawers, Y., Loganathan, R., Vacek, J.L., Stehno-Bittel, L., Novikova, L., Al-Jarrah, M., Smirnova, I.V.
Intracellular Ca2+ regulating proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells are altered with type1 diabetes due to the direct effects of hyperglycemia [Download]
Cardiovascular Diabetology (2010), 9:8.
Searls, Y.M., Loganathan, R., Smirnova, I.V., Stehno-Bittel, L.
Exercise training improves cardiac performance in diabetes: in vivo demonstration with quantitative cine-MRI analyses [Download]
Journal of Applied Physiology (2007), 102 (2), 665-672.
Loganathan, R., Bilgen, M., Al-Hafez, B., Zhero, S.V., Alenezy, M.D., Smirnova, I.V.
Exercise induced benefits in individuals with type 1 diabetes [Download]
Physical Therapy Reviews (2006), 11, 77-89.
Loganathan, R., Searls, Y., Smirnova, I.V., Stehno-Bittel, L.
Cardiac dysfunction in the diabetic rat: Quantitative evaluation using high resolution magnetic resonance imaging [Download]
Cardiovascular Diabetology (2006), 5:7.
Loganathan, R., Bilgen, M., Al-Hafez, B., Alenezy, M.D., Smirnova, I.V.
Characterization of alterations in diabetic myocardial tissue using high resolution MRI [Download]
International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging (2006), 22 (1), 81-90.
Loganathan, R., Bilgen, M., Al-Hafez, B., Smirnova I.V.
CXCL-10 induced cell death in neurons: Role of calcium dysregulation [Download]
European Journal of Neuroscience (2006), 23 (4), 957-64.
Sui, Y., Stehno-Bittel, L., Li, S., Loganathan, R., Pinson, D., Narayan, O., Buch, S.
