Nikhita Pasnuri and Aprotim Mazumder
Cells communicate using convoluted chemical signals. Given the limited number of proteins, how does a cell assess the input message and act accordingly? One plausible approach could be by applying different strengths of the same input. Using Drosophila melanogaster, the fruit-fly, as a model system, a method was adapted and modified: single-molecule mRNA fluorescence in-situ hybridization (smFISH) for whole-mount tissues. smFISH quantitatively gauged transcription of the target genes, and was used as a proxy to determine the input signal strength. In the lab, smFISH is being applied to understand how different signal strengths can bring about differences during the development of the fly.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mod.2018.08.006
