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SUMMARY:Unbiased Genetic Screening to find Modifiers of Mitochondria in Ne
 urons - Dr Gaynor Smith | Cardiff Univeristy
DTSTART:20230628T140000Z
DTEND:20230628T150000Z
UID:TALK194443@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Penny Peck
DESCRIPTION:Mitochondria are essential in long axons to provide metabolic 
 support and sustain neuron integrity. Hence deficits in mitochondrial func
 tion and mutations in mitochondrial regulating genes contribute to a wealt
 h of neurodegenerative diseases. A healthy mitochondrial pool is maintaine
 d by a number of key processes including: biogenesis\, transport\, mitopha
 gy\, fission and fusion\, but how these events are regulated in axons is n
 ot well defined. We hypothesised that there are a number of important gene
 s that have not yet been identified and a comprehensive collection of cons
 erved modulators of mitochondria in aged adult neurons is overdue. We ther
 efore conducted an unbiased forwards genetic screen to find new genes that
  modulate mitochondria in axons _in vivo_\, using _Drosophila_ and verify 
 our results using mammalian neurons _in vitro_. We present the identificat
 ion and characterisation of several mitochondrial target genes that alter 
 mitochondrial size\, number or distribution in axons. Functional character
 isation of mitochondrial genes should provide new insights into the molecu
 lar regulation of axon-mitochondrial interactions and are potential therap
 eutic targets for intervention in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer
 ’s disease. 
LOCATION:MRC MBU\, Level 7 Lecture Theatre\, The Keith Peters Building\, C
 B2 0XY
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