Functional characterization of Optimus prime

University Of Illinois At Chicago, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

Genome sequencing has provided a "parts list" for all life. The next great challenge is understanding what all those parts do. Toward this end, Dr. Featherstone is leading biology students to systematically search the genome for previously overlooked 'parts', with a specific focus on discovering uncharacterized genes required for brain development. Using this approach, Featherstone?s group discovered a fundamentally new type of protein that they named 'Optimus prime' (OPr). This project will focus on characterizing the function of OPr in order to expand our understanding of normal brain development. Since human OPr has been linked to autism, bipolar disorder, and migraine, the work also has potential to inform our understanding of certain neurological diseases The project will provide training for a diverse group of students, including students from populations underrepresented in scientific disciplines and scientists who would otherwise not have access to leading research facilities. OPr was discovered using genetic and biochemical screens in Drosophila melanogaster, which for over a century has proven an ideal tool for basic biological discovery. Preliminary studies suggest that OPr associates with specific glutamate receptor subunit mRNAs to control glutamate receptor subunit protein production and synaptic receptor subtype composition ? processes which are universally recognized as important for brain development and plasticity, but which are still very poorly understood. To test this idea, Dr. Featherstone and his team of students will engineer Drosophila completely lacking the OPr gene and then assay glutamate receptor production and function using a variety of powerful techniques. This will determine the functional role of OPr in the developing brain. In a separate line of experiments, Dr. Featherstone and his team will examine the biochemical and spatial relationship between OPr and mRNA, to better understand, at a molecular level, exactly how OPr works.