Functional analysis of neuronal IgCAMs in c. elegans

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The brain is one of the most fascinating organs. During its development individual neurons send out processes which grow over large distances to their targets, where they establish contacts with target neurons to eventually form neuronal circuits. Cell-cell adhesion and cell-substrate adhesion phenomena play an important role in various aspects of neuronal development and are only poorly understood. The largest families of cell adhesion receptors with an established role in nervous system development are the immunoglobulin cell adhesion molecules (IgCAMs). Sequencing of the genomes of various animals revealed all the members of these families. With respect to their function only a fraction of these genes has been characterized so far. With this proposal we would like to initiate a functional analysis of those members of the IgCAM superfamily that are found in the brain. We will generate targeted knock-outs of those genes in the nematode C. elegans and determine the developmental process they are involved in. The ability to extend such an analysis from the single gene level to the gene family level allows us to determine functional redundancies among members of these families, an issue which was difficult to address before without the complete knowledge of all the family members. The evolutionary conservation of these families of adhesion molecules enables us to draw general conclusions about the contributions of this family to neuronal development also in vertebrates.