Biology

Prof. B. J. Rao
Dept. of Biological Sciences, TIFR (Mini-symposium on Physicochemical phenomena and how they shape biological processes - Talk 1)

Tissue-homeostasis mechanism is central to how cells respond to stress signals. We probed Drosophila Wing-disc system during DNA damage stress and uncovered that initiator caspase Dronc upstream regulates DNA repair via a non-apoptotic function which finally culminates into p53-JNK circuitry that in turn regulates cell death and cell protection responses simultaneously. Resultantly, cell autonomously driven homeostasis leads to tissue-compensation during DNA repair compromised situations with no associated phenotypes. The system therefore provides an elegant intertwining of cell death and cell protection circuitry.