Cyganek, Lukas

English

The assembly of circuitries for
somatosensory perception relies on a complex interplay of neuronal
diversification, specification, phenotypic modulation and
establishment of precise connectivity patterns during
embryogenesis. However, little is known about the molecular
mechanisms controlling the establishment of well-defined
somatosensory connectivity, which is to a large part due to the
limitation of sensory neuron subtype-specific molecular markers.
This study aimed at the identification of novel genetic markers for
distinct somatosensory neuron subtypes to provide more detailed
insights into primary somatosensory circuit formation, organization
and function. These aims were addressed by a newly established in
silico-to-in vivo screen for neuron subtype-specific enhancer
activities in the chick at late-gestation stages. This study
designed a simple screening strategy that permits rapid, efficient
and stable genetic tagging of sensory neuron subtypes in vivo,
which thus provides the basis for the systematic discovery of
late-onset sensory neuron subtype-specific gene regulatory
activities. Thereby, a novel molecularly defined subclass of touch
receptor neurons was uncovered, thus providing the utility of the
system for uncovering the neural basis of discrete sensory
modalities relayed by the primary somatosensory system. In
addition, the system facilitated stable cell fate-tracking, which
unraveled outstanding features of the primary somatosensory neuron
lineage. Besides facilitating the genetic dissection of the
somatosensory system, the strategy also offers an effective
pre-screening platform for targeting genetically identified
neuronal subtypes in other vertebrate species

Georg-August-University Göttingen

Exploring the neural basis of touch through selective and stable genetic tagging in the chick somatosensory system

https://ediss.uni-goettingen.de/bitstream/11858/00-1735-0000-000D-F0CB-5/4/cyganek.pdf

Exploring the neural basis of touch through selective and stable genetic tagging in the chick somatosensory system

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Georg-August-University Göttingen