Frazzled’s Role in Synapse Formation at a Drosophila Giant Synapse

• Other Authors: Lopez, Juan (author)
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Florida Atlantic University
• Subjects: Drosophila melanogaster > Nervous system.; Gap Junctions.; Synapses.; Netrin Receptors.
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013085

In Drosophila melanogaster, the GFS is synaptically coupled to the Tergotrochanteral motoneurons; these neurons form a signaling pathway from the brain to the jump muscles (Thomas and Wyman, 1983). Part of this signaling is done through gap junctions, and placement of these gap junctions was partially shown to be regulated by the binding of Netrin, a class of guidance molecule (Orr et al., 2014). In the present study we investigate the role of Netrin's receptor Frazzled in the placement of gap junctions in Drosophila at: 1) Presynaptic neurons (Giant Fibers [GF]), 2) Postsynaptic neurons (Tergotrochanteral motoneurons [TTMn]), and 3) Presynaptic + Postsynaptic neurons simultaneously. Effects of Frazzled were tested using Frazzled RNAi and a combination of electrophysiological recordings and imaging of the GF-TTMn synapse. The results from this study show that presynaptic and postsynaptic knockdown of Frazzled delayed muscular responses and altered the anatomy of both the GF's and TTMn's. === Includes bibliography. === Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. === FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection