UCI
School of Biological Sciences
Developmental and Cell Biology

Kavita Arora

Kavita Arora, PhD

Kavita Arora, Ph.D.
Associate Professor & Vice Chair

4215 McGGaugh Hall
University of California Irvine
Irvine, CA 92697

Tel: (949) 824-1087
Fax: (949) 824-4709
Email: karora@uci.edu
Website: Lab Homepage

Drosophila development - We are interested in understanding the role of two TGF-ß related genes, screw (scw) and decapentaplegic (dpp), in specifying cell fate during embryonic development in the fruitfly Drosoila. Since the TGF-ß signaling pathway is evolutionarily conserved, findings from a genetically tractable organisms like Drosophila can provide insights into the mechanism of action of TGF-ß proteins in other organisms, including humans. faculty-arora-1.pngWe have cloned the scw gene and shown that although scw transcripts are ubiquitously expressed, the protein is only required in dorsal cells. It is likely that Scw may be activated in a subset of the cells where it is expressed because of its interaction with other genes involved in patterning the embryo. We are using molecular genetic tools and biochemical techniques to test how Scw activity is modulated post-translationally.

Recent Publications

  • Parker, J. L., Ellis, J. E., Nguyen, M. and K. Arora. (2006) The divergent TGF-ß ligand Dawdle utilizes an activin pathway in Drosophila.
  • Yao, L-C., Blitz, I. L*., Peiffer, D. A*., Phin, S*., Wang, Y., Ogata, S., Cho, K. C., Arora, K. and R. Warrior. (2006). Schnurri transcription factors from Drosophila and vertebrates can mediate BMP signaling through a phylogenetically conserved mechanism. Development (In press).
    *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • Brugger, S., Merrill, A., Torres-Vazquez, J., Wu, N., Ting, M., Cho, J., Dobias, S. L., Yi, S. E., Lyons, K., Bell, J. R., Arora, K., Warrior, R and R. Maxson. (2004). A phylogenetically conserved cis-regulatory module in the Msx2 promoter is sufficient for BMP-dependent transcription in murine and Drosophila embryos. Development 131, 5153-65.
  • Parker, J. L., Stathakis, D., and K. Arora. Regulation of BMP and Activin signaling in Drosophila. (2003) In “Progress in Molecular and Subcellular Biology”, Ed. A. Beschin, Invertebrate Cytokines, Springer-Verlag, pp. 73-101.
  • Arora, K., and Warrior, R. (2001) A new Smurf in the village. Developmental Cell 1, 441-442.