Determining The Location Of Interaction Between The Hippo Signaling Pathway And The Chlamydia Trachomatis Tarp N-Terminal Region Using Drosophila Melanogaster As An In Vivo Model

Author

• Dev S. Patel, University of Central FloridaFollow

Keywords

Chlamydia trachomatis; Hippo pathway; Translocated Actin Recruiting Phosphoprotein; N-Tarp; Drosophila melanogaster; Epistasis

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis causes the most prevalent bacterial sexually transmitted infection in the world, affecting millions of people annually. Chlamydia secretes protein effectors to assist in infection, yet many of these effectors are uncharacterized. One effector, the translocated actin-recruiting phosphoprotein (Tarp), is important for efficient host cell entry. Tarp has a well-characterized C-terminus, but its N-terminus remains relatively uncharacterized. Recent studies into the N-terminus of Tarp reveal that it interacts with the Hippo signaling pathway, which regulates cell proliferation and death. Interestingly, Chlamydial infection delay host cell death, allowing the pathogen time to complete its intracellular replication cycle. Thus, the interaction between this effector and the Hippo signaling pathway warrants further investigation. Determining the location of this interaction can help establish a molecular mechanism by which the N-terminus of Tarp (N-Tarp) interacts with the Hippo signaling pathway. This thesis investigates where N-Tarp interacts with the Hippo signaling pathway by testing epistatic interactions. To test for these epistatic interactions, we used  Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Expression of N-Tarp in Drosophila wings results in tissue overgrowth while overexpression of Hippo pathway core signaling proteins results in a reduction or complete absence of wings. By co-expressing N-Tarp and Hippo pathway components, we were able to observe whether N-Tarp was able to rescue the wing-reduction phenotypes observed with Hippo expression alone. The results can point to where the interaction takes place along the Hippo pathway. We found mixed results, with the strongest evidence consistent with N-Tarp interacting downstream of the core kinase cascade of the signaling pathway. Given the recently discovered role of N-Tarp in contributing to overgrown wings, our study extends these findings and characterizes the effect of Hippo pathway expression and coexpression with N-Tarp.

Thesis Completion Year

2026

Thesis Completion Semester

Spring

Thesis Chair

Aranjuez, George

College

College of Medicine

Department

Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences

Thesis Discipline

Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences

Language

English

Access Status

Campus Access

Length of Campus Access

5 years

Campus Location

Orlando (Main) Campus

STARS Citation

Patel, Dev S., "Determining The Location Of Interaction Between The Hippo Signaling Pathway And The Chlamydia Trachomatis Tarp N-Terminal Region Using Drosophila Melanogaster As An In Vivo Model" (2026). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 512.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/512