Further genetic identification of genes and pathways associated with axon growth and regeneration

To understand how to fix damages to the central nervous system, the genes and pathways associated with axon growth and regeneration must be determined. Although significant progress has been made in understanding axon growth and regeneration in vitro, demonstrating in vivo roles requires intense effort. My project consisted of three goals that would help us gain better understanding of axon growth and regeneration. The project was performed using the model animal Caenorhabditis elegans. The first goal of this project was to test the in vivo interactions among genes known to be moderately involved in axon regeneration via double mutants. We found that some of the genes appear to work together, while others do not. The second goal was to test genes previously determined to have significant affects on PLM axon regeneration to see if their role is conserved in the PDE, a different neuron type. We found that for axon regeneration, gene function do not appear to be conserved in the PDE. The last goal was to determine the function of not previously tested genes on axon growth and regeneration. Of the genes tested, some showed affects on axon growth or regeneration alone, while some showed affects in both. Overall, we have determined pathways and function conservation of genes known to be involved in axon growth and regeneration, while also determining the functions of new genes. Further studies need to be done to determine genetic interactions of the genes with the pathways that guide proper axon growth and regeneratio