The role of microRNAs in neural development and locomotor behaviour
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sussex
Department Name: Sch of Life Sciences
Abstract
The aim of the project is to investigate the genetic factors underlying the control of movement with an emphasis on the roles played by small RNAs in the process. The work will combine state-of-the-art genetic, imaging and computational approaches to determine the mechanisms of action of small RNAs during the development of movement in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. The work builds on a recent discovery made in the Alonso Lab that specific microRNAs can affect specific behaviours and complex movements in Drosophila (Picao-Osorio et al. 2015 Science). The work will be developed within an ambitious research programme funded by a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award recently made to Prof. Claudio Alonso. The study will be fostered by the excellent scientific community of Sussex Neuroscience ranked within the Top-10 UK academic units within the fields of Neuroscience and Biological Science in the REF2014.
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509784/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1805094 | Studentship | EP/N509784/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2020 | EDWARD O'GARRO-PRIDDIE |
| Title | FIMTable |
| Description | The FIMTable is a piece of apparatus developed by the lab of Christian Klämbt from the University of Münster for high-throughput analysis of larval locomotion. The FIMTable itself works on the principle of frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) of infrared light to illuminate crawling larvae during behavioural recordings. Various parameters such as larval momentum, acceleration and body bending angle can be derived from these recordings by analysing them using the associated FIMTrack software. |
| Type Of Material | Physiological assessment or outcome measure |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | A notable impact of the work performed using the FIMTable in my project has been the screening of a collection of miRNA mutants spanning over 90% of the miRNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster genome. Using this interdisciplinary approach, combining the advanced optical properties of the FIMTable with the computer-based tracking algorithm provided as part of FIMTrack, the screening has been performed with speed and high throughput. By using custom macros I created in Microsoft Excel and custom scripts I wrote in R, I have also been able to isolate particularly relevant portions of the datasets provided from FIMTrack and understand how the penetrance of locomotor deficiencies varies within populations of larvae. Finally, the data collected using the FIMTable has also opened up the possibility of applying physics-based modelling approaches to further understand how locomotor deficiencies in miRNA mutant larvae may develop. There have also been notable impacts of the FIMTable's use in work published by other labs. For example, in a 2016 study led by Christian Klämbt's lab, the FIMTable was used to study how locomotion is affected during collisions between larvae (Otto et al., 2016). Also, in 2017, Marta Zlatic's lab used the FIMTable to identify postural differences between locomotion in larvae of different developmental stages (Almeida-Carvalho et al., 2017). The FIMTable has also proven useful for the analysis of locomotion in other animals including Caenorhabditis elegans as described in a 2016 study from Dominique Bonneau's lab (Colin et al., 2016). |
| URL | https://www.uni-muenster.de/PRIA/en/FIM/index.html |