Synaptogenesis entails the development and establishment of functional synapses, which form the fundamental unit of communication in the nervous system. Initially identified in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), the FSN-1, F-box protein family has emerged as evolutionarily conserved binding partners of PHR family proteins, which regulate synaptogenesis. Previously, we have shown that FSN-1 and RPM-1 form a SCF/FSN-1/RPM-1 ubiquitin ligase complex that negatively regulates synapse growth by downregulating presynaptic targets, like the MAP kinase pathway. For my master’s thesis, I used a combination of both candidate and forward genetic approaches to identify additional components of signaling pathways that are regulated by FSN-1 during synaptogenesis. Our studies are among the first to suggest diverging roles for these partners and provide the first evidence for a mechanism through which the F-box protein regulates synaptogenesis via retrograde insulin/IGF/FOXO signaling and glucosaminidase/O-GlcNAc modifications.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/24582 |
| Date | 26 July 2010 |
| Creators | Hwang, Christine |
| Contributors | Zhen, Mei |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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