Genetic Analysis of the Maintenance of Neuronal Morphology in Drosophila Melanogaster

Genetic Analysis of the Maintenance of Neuronal Morphology in Drosophila Melanogaster PDF Author: Jessica LaMae Whited
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
(Cont.) Establishment and maintenance of complex axonal trajectories is also a key feature of neuronal mophology. I identified a requirement for a novel cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase, PTPMEG, in these processes. Normal mushroom bodies, structures critical for insect learning and memory, have dorsally-projecting alpha lobe and medially-projecting beta lobe axons. Alpha lobes develop normally in ptpmeg mutants, but their pattern is not maintained. Instead, alpha lobe axons retract during pupation, resulting in thin and/or shortened alpha lobes. Meanwhile, beta lobe axons overextend at the midline. Removing ptpmeg function in mushroom bodies does not cause mutant phenotypes. ptpmeg mutants are rescued by pan-neuronal expression of wild-type Ptpmeg, but not by versions with disrupted phosphatase activity. These data suggest that Ptpmeg activity is required in another type of neuron to prevent mushroom body axon retraction. Ellipsoid body axons normally form a ring structure in the central brain. In ptpmeg mutants, the ellipsoid body axons develop abnormally, with the ventral side of the ring being discontinuous; the defect can be rescued by expression of wild-type Ptpmeg pan-neuronally.

Genetic Analysis of the Maintenance of Neuronal Morphology in Drosophila Melanogaster

Genetic Analysis of the Maintenance of Neuronal Morphology in Drosophila Melanogaster PDF Author: Jessica LaMae Whited
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
(Cont.) Establishment and maintenance of complex axonal trajectories is also a key feature of neuronal mophology. I identified a requirement for a novel cytoplasmic tyrosine phosphatase, PTPMEG, in these processes. Normal mushroom bodies, structures critical for insect learning and memory, have dorsally-projecting alpha lobe and medially-projecting beta lobe axons. Alpha lobes develop normally in ptpmeg mutants, but their pattern is not maintained. Instead, alpha lobe axons retract during pupation, resulting in thin and/or shortened alpha lobes. Meanwhile, beta lobe axons overextend at the midline. Removing ptpmeg function in mushroom bodies does not cause mutant phenotypes. ptpmeg mutants are rescued by pan-neuronal expression of wild-type Ptpmeg, but not by versions with disrupted phosphatase activity. These data suggest that Ptpmeg activity is required in another type of neuron to prevent mushroom body axon retraction. Ellipsoid body axons normally form a ring structure in the central brain. In ptpmeg mutants, the ellipsoid body axons develop abnormally, with the ventral side of the ring being discontinuous; the defect can be rescued by expression of wild-type Ptpmeg pan-neuronally.

Identification of Genetic Factors That Affect Neuronal Patterning, Function, and Disease in Drosophila Melanogaster

Identification of Genetic Factors That Affect Neuronal Patterning, Function, and Disease in Drosophila Melanogaster PDF Author: Claire Reynolds
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans (HSPGs) are required for normal synaptic development at the Drosophila melanogaster larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ). When enzymes required for biosynthesis of HSPGs are inhibited through mutations of RNA interference, a variety of morphological and electrophysiological defects are observed at the NMJ. These defects included changes in the post-synaptic specialization of the muscle (the SSR), loss of mitochondria from the sub-synaptic cytosol, and abnormal mitochondrial morphology. Identification of autophagic regulation as the mechanism by which HSPGs influenced synaptic properties was the foundation of this dissertation.The present work more fully characterizes the influence of HSPG function on autophagic markers in muscle tissue. Confocal microscopic and Western blot analysis of both endogenous proteins and ectopically expressed reporter constructs was used to assess the level of autophagic degradation in muscle tissue. RNA inhibition of sfl and ttv, two HS biosynthetic enzymes, influenced these measures of autophagy in a direction that indicated an overall increase in autophagic flux.HSPGs are ubiquitously expressed, and have a variety of critical functions throughout the organism. Similarly, autophagy is a globally important catabolic pathway. To better understand the significance of this novel regulatory role for HSPGs, we extended our analysis into a second tissue. Drosophila fat body tissue is an energetically sensitive tissue in which autophagy is commonly studied. Using many of the same assays, we identified a similar increase in autophagy in response to HSPG biosynthetic inhibition that was non-cell autonomous.While autophagy is important for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis throughout the organism, certain cell types are more reliant on this pathway than others. Neurons are one such autophagy sensitive cell type, and failure of neuronal autophagy is closely associated with neurodegenerative disease. When HSPGs were inhibited in the brain of adult flies, an increase in autophagic degradation was once again identified. This increase in autophagy protected against the accumulation of oxidant-damaged cellular components after environmental exposure to hydrogen peroxide, and reduced neuronal death in a model of Alzheimers disease. These findings indicate that the regulation of autophagy by HSPGs is of high clinical relevance to human health.This thesis also describes an attempt to develop a Drosophila behavioral assessment protocol intended to provide biological validation of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) candidate genes. Sequencing and microarray analysis of individuals with Autism spectrum disorders has implicated an overwhelmingly large pool of candidate genes. Thorough assessment of the functional contributions of these genes to neurobehavioral development in model organisms is most drastically hindered by the generally low rate of recurrence in genetic changes affecting each candidate gene.Behavioral screening in the inexpensive and genetically facile model D. melanogaster was attempted using RNA interference (RNAi) to model genetic changes associated with human ASD and identify high-throughput behavioral methods suitable for providing the lacking biological validation for these genetic models. Three behavioral methods were selected based on their compatibility and straightforwardness, with consideration for evidence of previous successful use in established fly models of Autism. While the pilot run of this study was able to identify a few phenotypes of potential interest, the majority of the data indicated that these methods were not well-suited to the use of RNAi.

Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster)

Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) PDF Author: Josh Dubnau
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107009030
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
A comprehensive portrayal of the behaviour genetics of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and the methods used in these studies.

Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A PDF Author: Pinar Erkekoglu
Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand
ISBN: 9535132172
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 166

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Book Description
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a synthetic compound for hardening and clearing polycarbonate plastics. BPA is mainly classified as an estrogen-like endocrine-disrupting chemical. In the last decade, attention has arisen in scientific communities that it is not safe to use this chemical in mainly polycarbonate plastics. Exposure to BPA starts in prenatal period, which is the critical period for its toxic effects on different organs. Throughout this book, the readers will obtain information on the effects of BPA on different systems. They will also get information on the prenatal and postnatal effects of BPA. We believe that readers will get qualified scientific knowledge and a general overview of the toxic effects of BPA exposure and its consequences from this book.

Time, Love , Memory

Time, Love , Memory PDF Author: Jonathan Weiner
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0804153361
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
The story of Nobel Prize–winning discoveries regarding the molecular mechanisms controlling the body’s circadian rhythm. How much of our fate is decided before we are born? Which of our characteristics is inscribed in our DNA? Weiner brings us into Benzer's Fly Rooms at the California Institute of Technology, where Benzer, and his asssociates are in the process of finding answers, often astonishing ones, to these questions. Part biography, part thrilling scientific detective story, Time, Love, Memory forcefully demonstrates how Benzer's studies are changing our world view--and even our lives. Jonathan Weiner, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for The Beak of the Finch, brings his brilliant reporting skills to the story of Seymour Benzer, the Brooklyn-born maverick scientist whose study of genetics and experiments with fruit fly genes has helped revolutionize or knowledge of the connections between DNA and behavior both animal and human.

Brain Development in Drosophila melanogaster

Brain Development in Drosophila melanogaster PDF Author: Gerhard Martin Technau
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0387782613
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 173

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Book Description
The fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is an ideal model system to study processes of the central nervous system This book provides an overview of some major facets of recent research on Drosophila brain development.

Neuromuscular Junctions in Drosophila

Neuromuscular Junctions in Drosophila PDF Author:
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0080857779
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 317

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Book Description
Neuromuscular Junctions in Drosophila gathers the main contributions that research using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has made in the area of synapse development, synapse physiology, and excitability of muscles and nerve cells. The chapters in this book represent a synthesis of major advances in our understanding of neuronal development and synaptic physiology, which have been obtained using the above approach.This book is directed to the general neuroscience audience: researchers, instructors, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates who are interested in the mechanisms of synapse development and physiology. However, the book will also be a valuable resource for those that use the fruit fly as a model system in their laboratories.Key Features* Synthesizes the genetic approaches used to study synaptic development and function at the neuromuscular junction, using flies as a model system* Covers major recent advances in muscle development, pathfinding, synapse maturation and plasticity, exo- and endocytosis, and ion channel function* Written in clear language that is easily understandable to readers not already familiar with fruit fly research* Includes numerous diagrams and extensive reference lists

Biology of Drosophila

Biology of Drosophila PDF Author: Milislav Demerec
Publisher: CSHL Press
ISBN: 9780879694418
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 650

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Book Description
Biology of Drosophila was first published by John Wiley and Sons in 1950. Until its appearance, no central, synthesized source of biological data on Drosophila melanogaster was available, despite the fly's importance to science for three decades. Ten years in the making, it was an immediate success and remained in print for two decades. However, original copies are now very hard to find. This facsimile edition makes available to the fly community once again its most enduring work of reference.

Behavioural Phenotypes

Behavioural Phenotypes PDF Author: Gregory O'Brien
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781898683063
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
A timely distillation of current thinking on the presentation of behavioural disorders and their origins.

Fragile X Syndrome

Fragile X Syndrome PDF Author: Randi Jenssen Hagerman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780801853883
Category : Fragile X syndrome
Languages : en
Pages : 481

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Book Description
This new edition of Fragile X Syndrome includes updated information on the latest research findings -- especially in molecular biology -- as well as new photographs highlighting clinical features and thorough coverage of treatment and intervention, diagnosis, and research. Praise for the first edition: "Answers nearly all the questions that parents or clinicians might raise about fragile X syndrome....Can be recommended confidently as a thoroughly up-to-date, reliable, and informative account of the condition." -- Lancet "The clinical and cytogenetic material in this book is excellent and provides a strong background for physicians and students... Fragile X Syndrome still presents the best comprehensive treatment of this complex disorder. Physicians, students, and other interested professionals can either read this book from cover to cover or select the chapters that interest or apply to them." -- New England Journal of Medicine