Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Dr. Marc Ekker
December 5, 2014 at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
| Location: | 4440Q Carleton Technology and Training Centre |
| Cost: | Free |
| Audience: | Anyone |
| Key Contact: | Andrew Simons |
| Contact Email: | andrew.simons@carleton.ca |
Enhancer-based analysis of Dlx function in the vertebrate forebrain
Marc Ekker, Professor of Biology, University of Ottawa
Vertebrate Dlx genes encode homeodomain transcription factors involved in several aspects of embryonic development. In the developing forebrain, the mouse Dlx genes play crucial role in the migration and differentiation of GABAergic interneuron precursors. The Ekker laboratory has extensively studied cis-acting regulatory enhancers responsible for Dlx expression in the forebrain of mice and zebrafish. We have recently produced mice with targeted deletions of the Dlx forebrain enhancers. Characterization of the phenotype of these mice will be presented. In parallel to this work, we have used the Dlx forebrain enhancers to drive the CRE recombinase in lineage tracing studies carried out in zebrafish. Results in juvenile but also in adult zebrafish will be presented with an examination of the potential implications for adult neurogenesis and the regeneration of GABAergic neurons after injury.