“What I Did”
The Galm1 gene deals with galactose metabolism. This gene interested me because of the pathway it works under, the Leloir Pathway, which converts galactose into glucose. Because this gene deals with metabolism, I speculated that it would have a large expression in the midgut. From my research, I found that the Galm1 gene is in fact highly expressed in the Drosophila Midgut, specifically the p2_4 region, which deals with hexose metabolism.
“How You Can Help”
I was interested to find that the GALM gene, the human ortholog for the Galm1 gene, was most highly expressed in the kidneys. This was surprising to me because the gene deals with galactose metabolism, and can result in galactosemia, which leads to issues in the gut. Further research could be done to attempt to explain why it is that this gene is most highly expressed in the kidneys, and not the gut.