Publications [#378505] of Pelin C. Volkan
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- Vien, KM; Duan, Q; Yeung, C; Barish, S; Volkan, PC, Atypical cadherin, Fat2, regulates axon terminal organization in the developing Drosophila olfactory receptor neurons.,
iScience, vol. 27 no. 7
(July, 2024),
pp. 110340 [doi] .
(last updated on 2024/11/03)Abstract:
The process of how neuronal identity confers circuit organization is intricately related to the mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration and neuropathologies. Modeling this process, the olfactory circuit builds a functionally organized topographic map, which requires widely dispersed neurons with the same identity to converge their axons into one a class-specific neuropil, a glomerulus. In this article, we identified Fat2 (also known as Kugelei) as a regulator of class-specific axon organization. In fat2 mutants, axons belonging to the highest fat2-expressing classes present with a more severe phenotype compared to axons belonging to low fat2-expressing classes. In extreme cases, mutations lead to neural degeneration. Lastly, we found that Fat2 intracellular domain interactors, APC1/2 (Adenomatous polyposis coli) and dop (Drop out), likely orchestrate the cytoskeletal remodeling required for axon condensation. Altogether, we provide a potential mechanism for how cell surface proteins' regulation of cytoskeletal remodeling necessitates identity specific circuit organization.