Systematic identification of receptors required for nervous system development in C. elegans

在大脑的发育过程中，神经元迁移到适当的位置并发出薄的突起（轴突和树突）。轴突有时会长距离生长到目标区域，在那里它们连接到其他神经元，形成神经元网络。我们正在研究神经元迁移和轴突寻路的分子机制。C中可用的工具和资源。线虫允许大规模筛选策略来鉴定控制发育过程的基因。在这个提议中，我们计划系统地筛选在神经元迁移过程中起作用的假定受体。我们建立了一个主要的非特征性的跨膜蛋白（可能是新的受体），这是在胚胎发育过程中的神经元中表达的列表。我们计划系统地筛选这些基因的突变体，以确定神经元发育所需的潜在新型受体。我们预计，这将揭示一些基因，这些基因对神经元或轴突向其靶点迁移至关重要。在C. elegans确保了我们的发现对于理解包括人类在内的脊椎动物大脑发育过程中的迁移过程具有普遍的重要性。

During the development of the brain neurons migrate to their proper locations and send out thin processes (axons and dendrites). Axons grow sometimes over long distances into target regions where they connect to other neurons forming neuronal networks. We are studying the molecular mechanism of neuronal migration and axonal pathfinding. Tools and resources available in C. elegans allow large-scale screening strategies to identify genes controlling developmental processes. In this proposal we plan to screen systematically putative receptors for a role in neuronal migration processes. We established a list of predominantly uncharacterized transmembrane proteins (possibly novel receptors), which are expressed in neurons during embryonic development. We plan to systematically screen available mutants in those genes to identify potentially novel receptors required for neuronal development. We anticipate that this will uncover a number of genes, which are important for the migration of neurons or axons towards their targets. The strong evolutionary conservation of many genes found in C. elegans ensures that our findings will be of general importance for the understanding of migration processes during brain development also in vertebrates including humans.