Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of axon targeting
What extracellular signals and neuronal receptors enable precise axonal targeting? What cells express these signals? Are these signals shared between development and regeneration? We have several mutants with axon guidance defects in development and/or regeneration that will form the foundation for discovery.
Remodeling circuity across aging
Does the capacity for precise axon targeting decline with aging? How is neuronal circuitry remodeled as a target structure becomes more complex (ie new muscles and bones form)? Do genes that promote target-selective axon regeneration in larvae also function the same in older animals?
Temporal & spatial organization of guidance signals
What extracellular signals and neuronal receptors enable precise axonal targeting? How are these signals distributed across space and developmental time? How do they change during regeneration? We will employ single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to map the guidance receptors expressed by different neuronal populations and the guidance cues specific to the spatial domain they target. We will harness this transcriptomics dataset to develop new tools to label neuronal populations and identify new candidate genes to study.