REPU MAGAZINE N 3
2015 REPU Research Projects
2017
2015 REPU Research Projects
By Luz Saavedra, Johnny Dávila and Ricardo Gonzales
REPU - Biology
Renzo Gutiérrez - Vanderbilt University
Miller Laboratory, USA
Synaptic remodeling is a complex mechanism that governs the assembly
of pre and postsynaptic domains to direct the flow of information among
neurons. This process takes part during early development for the
maintenance of cognitive processes. However, its genetic machinery is
poorly understood. Currently, the GABAergic system of the nematode C.
elegans exemplifies a model of study of this process. Dorsal D neurons
undergo a switch polarity to synapse with dorsal muscles in early larval
stages in a process regulated by the transcription factor UNC-55. The
Miller lab exploits this system to uncover the transcriptional program that
governs neuron-remodeling through the identification of candidate targets
of UNC-55. During this internship, by using a CRISPR/Cas9 genetic
approach, Renzo focused on the design and generation of unc-8 mutant
strains to disrupt the channel activity and further evaluated its impact on
synaptic remodeling.
*Update: Renzo is currently a Msc(c) at Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia.
Julio Miranda - Yale University
Crews Laboratory, USA
Among tetrapods, only salamanders can fully regenerate their limbs as
adults (arms, legs and tail). They are even able to regenerate their brain,
heart or spinal cord. The axolotl is a salamander widely used in
regeneration studies as it is easily maintained in the laboratory. When an
axolotl limb is amputated, the wound heals and subsequently a mass of
proliferating cells called "blastema" forms. During regeneration, blastema
cells differentiate into all the tissues needed. Thus, the identification of
genes expressed in blastema that are essential for regeneration is
extremely important. A list of candidate genes was previously reported by
the Crews group. Julio focused on using the CRISPR/Cas9 system to
knock out some of the candidate genes in axolotl embryos. This was
highly challenging because it has a very large genome that remains
unsequenced. However, Julio was able to successfully mutate some of
the genes and generated viable individuals for future amputation assays.
*Update: Julio is currently a PhD student at the University of Chicago.
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