The homeostatic balance of life and death of cells is critical for the well-being of organisms. Inappropriate cell survival and cell death decisions as well as cell competition between cells of different fitness are associated with many diseases such as cancer, autoimmune diseases and neurodegeneration. The Bergmann Lab has developed genetic models in Drosophila to identify mechanisms that control the decision between cell death and cell survival.

• Xu et al. (2005). The CARD-carrying caspase Dronc is essential for most, but not all, developmental cell death in Drosophila. Development 132, 2125-2134.
• Srivastava et al. (2007). ARK, the Apaf-1 related killer in Drosophila, requires diverse domains for its activity. Cell Death & Differentiation 14, 92-102.
• Lee et al. (2011). Drosophila IAP1-mediated ubiquitylation controls activation of the initiator caspase DRONC independently of protein degradation. PLoS Genetics 7(9) e1002261.
• Fan Y and Bergmann A (2014). Multiple mechanisms modulate distinct cellular susceptibilities towards apoptosis in the developing Drosophila eye. Developmental Cell 30, 48-60.