Internal Seminar: Larisa Sheloukhova, Molecular and functional dissection of ancestral glia

Internal Seminar

Speaker: Larisa Sheloukhova, Phd Student, Evolutionary Neurobiology Unit (Hiroshi Watanabe Unit)

Title: Molecular and functional dissection of ancestral glia

Abstract:

Glial cells actively participate in almost every process taking place in the nervous system of bilaterian animals. Tracing back the first glia and elucidating its ancestral function is therefore important for understanding the evolution of the nervous system. Histological examinations have not so far revealed any morphological sign of glial cells in Cnidaria, the closest outgroup to Bilateria. This led to the hypothesis that glial cell types appeared after the common bilaterian ancestor had branched off from Cnidaria. However, this view has not been well examined at the genetic level. Several transcription factors that have the key role for glial cell differentiation in bilaterians were also found in the genome of Nematostella vectensis (Cnidaria). However, the function of these genes in cnidarians remains completely unknown. Thus, I intend to perform the first functional studies of these “glial” genes in Nematostella, an advantageous cnidarian model amenable to gene function analysis. In addition to the molecular characterization of glia in cnidarians, phylogenetic analysis of genes essential for glial functions using basal (non-bilateral) metazoan genomes will be done. The following aims are set to achieve these goals. First, comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of “glial” genes to identify evolutionarily conserved gene sets. Second, expression and loss-of-function analyses of glial genes using Nematostella embryos. This includes the identification of the target genes, as well as molecular and functional characterization of the glial marker-positive cells. To sum up, this project is aimed at providing the first comprehensive view of the ancestral genetic signature of glia, and will help reconstruct the evolutionary origin and diversification process of glial cell functions.

Following the seminar, please join us for free pizza, soft drinks, and scientific discussion from 5-5:30pm.