Barry Ganetzky

 

 

Genetic and Molecular Analysis of Neuronal Signaling, Development, and Maintenance

E-mail: ganetzky@wisc.edu

Research Strengths: Development: Plasticity and Repair, Membrane Excitability and Synaptic Transmission, Molecular Neuroscience

Our goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie neuronal development, signaling, and maintenance by isolation and characterization of mutations in Drosophila that alter the key proteins that govern these processes. We aim to elucidate the in vivo functions of these proteins using a combination of genetic, molecular, morphological, and electrophysiological techniques to characterize the mutants and to understand how they perturb the process of interest. Using these approaches we have discovered and characterized genes encoding novel ion channels and components of the synaptic release machinery. Similar approaches are now being applied to studies of neurodegeneration, synaptic plasticity and development.

Selected Publications:

• Coyle, I. P., Y. H. Koh, W. C. M. Lee , J. Slind, , J. Fergestad, J. T. Littleton, and B. Ganetzky. 2004. Nervous Wreck, an adaptor protein that interacts with WASP, regulates synaptic growth in Drosophila. Neuron 41: 521-534. [PDF]
• Palladino, M.J., J.E. Bower, R. Kreber, and B. Ganetzky. 2003. Neural dysfunction and neurodegeneration in Drosophila Na+/K+ ATPase alpha subunit mutants. J. Neurosci. 23: 1276-1286. [PDF]
• Palladino, M.J., T.J. Hadley, and B. Ganetzky. 2002. Temperature-sensitive paralytic mutants in Drosophila are enriched for those causing neurodegeneration. Genetics 161: 1197-1208. [PDF]
• Littleton, J.T., R.J.O. Barnard, S.A. Titus, J. Slind, E.R. Chapman, and B. Ganetzky. 2001. SNARE complex disassembly by NSF follows synaptic vesicle fusion. PNAS 98: 12233-12238. [PDF]
• Reenan, R., C.J. Hanrahan, and B. Ganetzky. 2000. The mlenapts RNA helicase mutation in Drosophila results in a splicing catastrophe of the para Na+ channel transcript in a region of RNA editing. Neuron 25: 139-149. [PDF]
• Yuan, L. and B. Ganetzky. 1999. A glial-neuronal signaling pathway revealed by mutations in a neurexin-related protein. Science 283: 1343-1345. [PDF]
• Littleton, J.T., E.R. Chapman, R. Kreber, M. Garment, S. Carlson, and B. Ganetzky. 1998. Temperature-sensitive paralytic mutations demonstrate that synaptic exocytosis requires SNARE complex assembly and disassembly. Neuron 21: 401-413. [PDF]
• Titus, S.A., J.W. Warmke and B. Ganetzky. 1997. The Drosophila erg K+ channel polypeptide is encoded by the seizure locus. J. Neurosci. 17: 875-881. [PDF]