Nutrient-dependent regulation of neural stem cell proliferation and neural circuit formation

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Project Summary The goal of this summer research project is to identify genes that regulate the reactivation of neural stem cells from developmental quiescence using the model organism Drosophila melanogaster. Quiescence is a fundamentally important stem cell state in which stem cells are mitotically dormant. Mitotic dormancy protects stem cells from uncontrolled proliferation which could lead to premature depletion of the stem cell pool or tumorigenesis. To identify genes that regulate neural stem cell reactivation from quiescence, a collection of inbred wildtype flies will be screened whose genomes have been sequenced. Reactivation from quiescence will then be assayed in each line by feeding animals EdU and numbers of proliferating neural stem cells assayed. A genome wide association study will then be carried out and a list of candidate genes will be generated. Next steps will include screening the candidate gene list. This project is aimed at providing training for one undergraduate student during the summer months. This project will provide the student both technical training (working with model organisms, microscopy, and analysis of genome sequences) and non-technical, career development activities, including data presentation and development of writing skills.