Amy Bejsovec | Scholars@Duke

Amy Bejsovec
Associate Professor of Biology

My laboratory explores the molecular mechanisms of pattern formation in developing embryos. We focus on the Wingless(Wg)/Wnt class of secreted growth factor: these molecules promote cell-cell communication leading to important cell fate decisions during the development of both vertebrate and invertebrate embryos. In addition, this highly conserved pathway is essential for maintaining stem cell populations and is associated with human cancers when inappropriately activated in adult tissues. Wg/Wnt molecules have proven difficult to work with biochemically because they associate tightly with cell membranes. Therefore, we exploit the powerful genetic and molecular techniques available in Drosophila to approach basic questions about Wg/Wnt signal transduction. Current work in the lab includes analysis of genes discovered as suppressors or enhancers of wg mutant phenotypes, which may identify new control mechanisms for the pathway. In earlier work, we found that the Wg-activated transcription factor, dTCF, can act as either a repressor or an activator of Wg target genes, and our screens have uncovered other factors that may influence this genetic switch. We have also characterized a Drosophila homolog of the human tumor suppressor, APC, which negatively regulates the Wg/Wnt signaling pathway, and we are currently studying other genes that show similar properties. We use cultured human cells to determine whether gene activities we have discovered and characterized in the fly embryo are relevant to the mammalian Wnt pathway as well.

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Associate Professor of Biology, Biology, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences 2000

Contact Information

Box 90338, Dept. of Biology, Durham, NC 27708-0338
Rm.369 Biological Sciences, Dept. of Biology, Durham, NC 27708
bejsovec@duke.edu (919) 613-8162
Bejsovec Lab

Background
Education, Training, & Certifications
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison 1988
- M.S., University of Wisconsin - Madison 1985
- B.S., Cornell University 1982
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Cancer Institute, Institutes and Centers 2000 - 2015
Recognition
In the News
- SEP 8, 2014
  
  Tie-Dye Fly
Expertise
Subject Headings
Research
Selected Grants
- Genetic and Genomics Training Grant awarded by National Institutes of Health 2020 - 2025
- Regulation of Wingless/Wnt signaling in Drosophila awarded by National Science Foundation 2016 - 2023
- Genetics Training Grant awarded by National Institutes of Health 1979 - 2020
- Organization and Function of Cellular Structure awarded by National Institutes of Health 1975 - 2020
- Developmental regulation by nuclear pore complex proteins awarded by National Institutes of Health 2015 - 2018
- Genetic modulation of Wingless/Wnt signaling awarded by National Institutes of Health 2009 - 2014
- Mechanisms of Intercellular Communication in Drosophila awarded by National Science Foundation 2006 - 2011
- Genetic Control of Cell Fate Diversity in Drosophila awarded by National Institutes of Health 1999 - 2005
- Career: Mechanisms of Intercellular Communication in Drosophila awarded by National Science Foundation 2000 - 2005
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Cotsworth, Shawn, Catherine J. Jackson, Graham Hallson, Kathleen A. Fitzpatrick, Monika Syrzycka, Alistair B. Coulthard, Amy Bejsovec, et al. “Characterization of Gfat1 (zeppelin) and Gfat2, Essential Paralogous Genes Which Encode the Enzymes That Catalyze the Rate-Limiting Step in the Hexosamine Biosynthetic Pathway in Drosophila melanogaster.” Cells 11, no. 3 (January 27, 2022): 448. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11030448.
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  - Bejsovec, Amy. “Wingless Signaling: A Genetic Journey from Morphogenesis to Metastasis.” Genetics 208, no. 4 (April 2018): 1311–36. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.117.300157.
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  - Rizzo, Nicholas P., and Amy Bejsovec. “SoxNeuro and Shavenbaby act cooperatively to shape denticles in the embryonic epidermis of Drosophila.” Development (Cambridge, England) 144, no. 12 (June 2017): 2248–58. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.150169.
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  - Greer, Elisabeth R., Anna T. Chao, and Amy Bejsovec. “Pebble/ECT2 RhoGEF negatively regulates the Wingless/Wnt signaling pathway.” Development (Cambridge, England) 140, no. 24 (December 2013): 4937–46. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.101303.
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  - Bejsovec, Amy, and Anna T. Chao. “crinkled reveals a new role for Wingless signaling in Drosophila denticle formation.” Development (Cambridge, England) 139, no. 4 (February 2012): 690–98. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.074013.
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  - Jones, Whitney M., Anna T. Chao, Michael Zavortink, Robert Saint, and Amy Bejsovec. “Cytokinesis proteins Tum and Pav have a nuclear role in Wnt regulation.” Journal of Cell Science 123, no. Pt 13 (July 2010): 2179–89. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.067868.
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  - Gregory, Stephen L., Saman Ebrahimi, Joanne Milverton, Whitney M. Jones, Amy Bejsovec, and Robert Saint. “Cell division requires a direct link between microtubule-bound RacGAP and Anillin in the contractile ring.” Current Biology : Cb 18, no. 1 (January 2008): 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.050.
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  - Chao, Anna T., Whitney M. Jones, and Amy Bejsovec. “The HMG-box transcription factor SoxNeuro acts with Tcf to control Wg/Wnt signaling activity.” Development (Cambridge, England) 134, no. 5 (March 2007): 989–97. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.02796.
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  - Bejsovec, A. “Flying at the head of the pack: Wnt biology in Drosophila.” Oncogene 25, no. 57 (December 2006): 7442–49. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1210051.
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  - McCartney, Brooke M., Meredith H. Price, Rebecca L. Webb, Melissa A. Hayden, Lesley M. Holot, Mengning Zhou, Amy Bejsovec, and Mark Peifer. “Testing hypotheses for the functions of APC family proteins using null and truncation alleles in Drosophila.” Development (Cambridge, England) 133, no. 12 (June 2006): 2407–18. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.02398.
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  - Zavortink, Michael, Nelida Contreras, Tracie Addy, Amy Bejsovec, and Robert Saint. “Tum/RacGAP50C provides a critical link between anaphase microtubules and the assembly of the contractile ring in Drosophila melanogaster.” Journal of Cell Science 118, no. Pt 22 (November 2005): 5381–92. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.02652.
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  - Jones, Whitney M., and Amy Bejsovec. “RacGap50C negatively regulates wingless pathway activity during Drosophila embryonic development.” Genetics 169, no. 4 (April 2005): 2075–86. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.104.039735.
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  - Bejsovec, Amy. “Wnt pathway activation: new relations and locations.” Cell 120, no. 1 (January 2005): 11–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2004.12.021.
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  - Bejsovec, Amy, Thomas Lecuit, and Juan Modolell. “The fly Olympics: faster, higher and stronger answers to developmental questions. Conference on the Molecular and Developmental Biology of Drosophila.” Embo Reports 5, no. 11 (November 2004): 1037–40. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.embor.7400274.
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  - Chao, Anna T., Herman A. Dierick, Tracie M. Addy, and Amy Bejsovec. “Mutations in eukaryotic release factors 1 and 3 act as general nonsense suppressors in Drosophila.” Genetics 165, no. 2 (October 2003): 601–12. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/165.2.601.
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  - Jones, Whitney M., and Amy Bejsovec. “Wingless signaling: an axin to grind.” Current Biology : Cb 13, no. 12 (June 2003): R479–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-9822(03)00407-x.
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  - Ostrowski, Stephen, Herman A. Dierick, and Amy Bejsovec. “Genetic control of cuticle formation during embryonic development of Drosophila melanogaster.” Genetics 161, no. 1 (May 2002): 171–82. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/161.1.171.
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  - McCartney, B. M., D. G. McEwen, E. Grevengoed, P. Maddox, A. Bejsovec, and M. Peifer. “Drosophila APC2 and Armadillo participate in tethering mitotic spindles to cortical actin.” Nature Cell Biology 3 (2001): 933–38.
  - Bejsovec, A. “Wnt signaling: an embarrassment of receptors.” Current Biology : Cb 10, no. 24 (December 2000): R919–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-9822(00)00852-6.
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  - Moline, M. M., H. A. Dierick, C. Southern, and A. Bejsovec. “Non-equivalent roles of Drosophila Frizzled and Dfrizzled2 in embryonic wingless signal transduction.” Current Biology : Cb 10, no. 18 (September 2000): 1127–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-9822(00)00697-7.
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  - Fujioka, M., J. B. Jaynes, A. Bejsovec, and M. Weir. “Production of transgenic Drosophila.” Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.) 136 (January 2000): 353–63. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-065-9:353.
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  - Moline, M. M., C. Southern, and A. Bejsovec. “Directionality of wingless protein transport influences epidermal patterning in the Drosophila embryo.” Development (Cambridge, England) 126, no. 19 (October 1999): 4375–84. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.126.19.4375.
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  - Bejsovec, A. “Wnt signalling shows its versatility.” Current Biology : Cb 9, no. 18 (September 1999): R684–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-9822(99)80439-4.
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  - McCartney, B. M., H. A. Dierick, C. Kirkpatrick, M. M. Moline, A. Baas, M. Peifer, and A. Bejsovec. “Drosophila APC2 is a cytoskeletally-associated protein that regulates wingless signaling in the embryonic epidermis.” The Journal of Cell Biology 146, no. 6 (September 1999): 1303–18. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.146.6.1303.
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  - Dierick, H., and A. Bejsovec. “Cellular mechanisms of wingless/Wnt signal transduction.” Current Topics in Developmental Biology 43 (January 1999): 153–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0070-2153(08)60381-6.
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  - Dierick, H. A., and A. Bejsovec. “Functional analysis of Wingless reveals a link between intercellular ligand transport and dorsal-cell-specific signaling.” Development (Cambridge, England) 125, no. 23 (December 1998): 4729–38. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.125.23.4729.
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  - Cavallo, R. A., R. T. Cox, M. M. Moline, J. Roose, G. A. Polevoy, H. Clevers, M. Peifer, and A. Bejsovec. “Drosophila Tcf and Groucho interact to repress Wingless signalling activity.” Nature 395, no. 6702 (October 1998): 604–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/26982.
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  - Hays, R., G. B. Gibori, and A. Bejsovec. “Wingless signaling generates pattern through two distinct mechanisms.” Development (Cambridge, England) 124, no. 19 (October 1997): 3727–36. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.124.19.3727.
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  - Pai, L. M., S. Orsulic, A. Bejsovec, and M. Peifer. “Negative regulation of Armadillo, a Wingless effector in Drosophila.” Development (Cambridge, England) 124, no. 11 (June 1997): 2255–66. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.124.11.2255.
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  - Wetering, M. van de, R. Cavallo, D. Dooijes, M. van Beest, J. van Es, J. Loureiro, A. Ypma, et al. “Armadillo coactivates transcription driven by the product of the Drosophila segment polarity gene dTCF.” Cell 88, no. 6 (March 1997): 789–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81925-x.
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  - Bejsovec, A., and E. Wieschaus. “Signaling activities of the Drosophila wingless gene are separately mutable and appear to be transduced at the cell surface.” Genetics 139, no. 1 (January 1995): 309–20. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/139.1.309.
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  - Bejsovec, A., and E. Wieschaus. “Segment polarity gene interactions modulate epidermal patterning in Drosophila embryos.” Development (Cambridge, England) 119, no. 2 (October 1993): 501–17. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.119.2.501.
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  - Peifer, M., and A. Bejsovec. “Knowing your neighbors: Cell interactions determine intrasegmental patterning in Drosophila.” Trends in Genetics 8, no. 7 (January 1, 1992): 243–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/0168-9525(92)90394-J.
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  - Bejsovec, A., and A. Martinez Arias. “Roles of wingless in patterning the larval epidermis of Drosophila.” Development (Cambridge, England) 113, no. 2 (October 1991): 471–85. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.113.2.471.
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  - González, F., L. Swales, A. Bejsovec, H. Skaer, and A. Martinez Arias. “Secretion and movement of wingless protein in the epidermis of the Drosophila embryo.” Mechanisms of Development 35, no. 1 (August 1991): 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/0925-4773(91)90040-d.
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  - Bejsovec, A., and P. Anderson. “Functions of the myosin ATP and actin binding sites are required for C. elegans thick filament assembly.” Cell 60, no. 1 (January 1990): 133–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-8674(90)90723-r.
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  - Bejsovec, A., and P. Anderson. “Myosin heavy-chain mutations that disrupt Caenorhabditis elegans thick filament assembly.” Genes & Development 2, no. 10 (October 1988): 1307–17. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.2.10.1307.
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Teaching & Mentoring
Recent Courses
Scholarly, Clinical, & Service Activities
Presentations & Appearances
Outreach & Engaged Scholarship
- President. National Drosophila Board. 2013 2013
- President-elect. National Drosophila Board. 2012 2012
- Member. Flybase Scientific Advisory Board. 2010 - 2015 2010 - 2015
- Co-chair. Wnt Meeting. 2009 - 2009 2009
Service to the Profession
- Chair. Elections Committee. National Drosophila Board. 2015 2015

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Education, Training, & Certifications

Previous Appointments & Affiliations

In the News

Subject Headings

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Recent Courses

Presentations & Appearances

Outreach & Engaged Scholarship

Service to the Profession