My laboratory seeks to understand how neurons regulate their survival. One major goal is to determine the genes that regulate photoreceptor cell death in response to presumptive folding misfolding mutants of opsin. We have investigated the requirements, or lack thereof, for genes that are known to regulate cell death in other cell types. We have also developed an assay to allow saturation mutagenesis and genetic screening for modifiers of retinal degneration in opsin mutant flies. In investigating the role of one family of cell survival proteins in neuronal maintenance, we discovered a Drosophila homolog that is involved in neurogenesis and myogenesis. A second focus of the lab has thus been on studying the biological role of this protein, which appears to be required for cell fate and polarity determination. - aging, Apoptosis, Drosophila, G protein-complex receptors, Genetics, membrane proteins, Mutation, Genetic Disease, Neurons, programmed cell death, protein folding, - Neither Human Subjects nor Human Tissues
