Margaret K. Nelson 

I use as my experimental organism the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum, a simple eukaryote that spans the unicellular/multicellular divide. In spite of the relative simplicity of its developmental program, Dictyostelium has proved to be a powerful model system for developmental biology. Not only do its cells carry out many of the same processes as our own; they also do so via similar mechanisms. 

Recently, my research has focused on the molecular genetic characterization of the developmental mutant fbxA (F-Box A). The FbxA protein plays a role in establishing and maintaining the correct prespore: prestalk ratio during development.  Sequence analysis suggests that FbxA is a member of a family of proteins that target proteins for degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.  My students and I are currently studying another protein involved in pattern formation, FbiA (FbxA-interacting protein), that we believe is a target of FbxA-mediated degradation.