Assessing gene function in the developing vertebrate brain using zebrafish as a model system (2003-2005)
Abstract
Although the vertebrate brain is the most complicated biological tissue it arises from a very simple sheet of cells during embryogenesis. Groups of nerve cells begin to communicate with each other through long interconnecting processes called axons. This project seeks to understand the role of specific genes in this process. This is the first time that the mechanisms controlling the growth of the earliest axons in the vertebrate brain will be examined in a living brain. Our analysis is expected to discover genes that are targets for manipulation of axon growth.
