Tonia Von Ohlen

239B Chalmers Hall
(785) 532-6149
tonia@ksu.edu

Research Focus

My research focuses on the use of genetics and molecular biology to address the questions of patterning and cell fate determination within the Drosophila embryonic nervous system. Specifically I am interested in subdivision of the central nervous system along the dorsal ventral axis. This requires the integration of multiple signaling pathways with homeodomain transcription factors to specify distinct domains with in the CNS.

Selected Research Publications

Cheesman, S.E., T. Von Ohlen, M.J. Layden, C.Q. Doe, and J.S. Eisen.  2004.  Zebrafish and fly Nkx6 proteins are expressed in similar CNS domains and can induce motorneurons.  Development 131: 5221-5232.

Cornell, R. and T. Von Ohlen.  2000.  Vnd, ind and msh: conserved regulators of dorsoventral neural patterning?  Current Op. Neuro 10: 63-71.

Von Ohlen, T. and C.Q. Doe.  2000.  Convergence of Dorsal, Dpp and Egfr signaling pathways subdivides the Drosophila embryonic neurectoderm into three dorsal-ventral columns.  Dev. Bio. 224: 362-372.

Von Ohlen, T. and J.E. Hooper.  1999.  The ciD mutation encodes a chimeric protein whose activity is regulated by Wingless signaling. Dev. Bio. 208: 147-156.

Weiss, J. B., T. Von Ohlen, D. Mellerick, G. Dressler, C.Q.Doe, and M.P. Scott.  1998.  Dorsoventral patterning in the Drosophila Central Nervous System: The intermediate neuroblasts defective Homeobox gene specifies intermediate column identity.  Genes Dev. 12: 3591-3602.

 Von Ohlen, T., D. Lessing, R. Nusse, and J.E. Hooper.  1997.  Hedgehog signaling regulates transcription through Cubitus Interruptus, a sequence specific DNA binding protein.  PNAS 94: 2404-2409.

Alcedo, J., M. Ayzenzon, T. Von Ohlen, M. Noll, and J.E. Hooper.  1996.  The Drosophila smoothened gene encodes a seven-pass membrane protein, a putative receptor for the Hedgehog signal.  Cell 86: 221-232.  

Von Ohlen, T. and J. E. Hooper.  1997.  Hedgehog signaling regulates transcription through Gli/Ci binding sites in the wingless enhancer.  Mech. Dev. 68: 149-156.