Motoneuronal development in zebrafish

斑马鱼运动神经发育

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-06735
• 负责人: Patten, Kessen(Shunmoogum)
• 金额: $ 2.26万
• 依托单位: Institut national de la recherche scientifique
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=661730
• 关键词: Motoneuronal; development; zebrafish

The ability of an animal to move and to interact with its environment requires that motoneurons correctly innervate specific muscles. The research in my laboratory is designed to address fundamental questions about the development of motoneurons and the motor circuit. Many aspects of nervous system development are highly conserved among species and zebrafish offer several advantages as model to study neurodevelopment processes. The primary focus of my research program is to understand how motoneurons grow, contact and communicate with muscles in young nervous systems to form the locomotor network. We are particularly interested in understanding a) how motor axons grow and form contacts with muscles, and b) the factors that determine how the nerve muscle connections become activated and are maintained in order to relay information for movement. More specifically, we are determining the role of proteins that are associated with developing motoneurons, and how their activity influences the development of the synaptic contacts between motoneurons and muscles. This is an important area of research in developmental neurobiology, because it gives us a much better understanding of neuronal development, and how the nervous system forms in young embryos. We anticipate that our studies will provide important information required for an in depth understanding of the mechanisms involved in motor circuits formation for locomotion in vertebrates.

动物运动和与环境互动的能力需要运动神经元正确地支配特定的肌肉。我实验室的研究旨在解决有关运动神经元和运动电路发展的基本问题。神经系统发育的许多方面在物种之间是高度保守的，斑马鱼作为研究神经发育过程的模型具有许多优势。我的研究项目的主要重点是了解运动神经元如何生长，接触和沟通肌肉在年轻的神经系统，形成运动网络。我们特别感兴趣的是了解a)运动轴突如何生长并与肌肉形成接触，以及b)决定神经肌肉连接如何被激活和维持以传递运动信息的因素。更具体地说，我们正在确定与运动神经元发育相关的蛋白质的作用，以及它们的活动如何影响运动神经元和肌肉之间突触接触的发育。这是发育神经生物学研究的一个重要领域，因为它让我们更好地了解神经元的发育，以及神经系统是如何在年轻胚胎中形成的。我们预计我们的研究将为深入了解脊椎动物运动中运动回路形成的机制提供重要的信息。