Heterogeneity in the projections and excitability of tyraminergic/octopaminergic neurons that innervate the reproductive tract.

Aminergic nuclei in mammals are generally composed of relatively small numbers of cells with broad projection patterns. Despite the gross similarity of many individual neurons, recent transcriptomic, anatomic and behavioral studies suggest previously unsuspected diversity. Smaller clusters of aminergic neurons in the model organism provide an opportunity to explore the ramifications of neuronal diversity at the level of individual cells.

Precise CRISPR-Cas9-mediated mutation of a membrane trafficking domain in the vesicular monoamine transporter gene.

Monoamine neurotransmitters such as noradrenalin are released from both synaptic vesicles (SVs) and large dense-core vesicles (LDCVs), the latter mediating extrasynaptic signaling. The contribution of synaptic versus extrasynaptic signaling to circuit function and behavior remains poorly understood. To address this question, we have previously used transgenes encoding a mutation in the Vesicular Monoamine Transporter () that shifts amine release from SVs to LDCVs.

Regulation of oviduct muscle contractility by octopamine.

Octopamine is essential for egg-laying in , but the neuronal pathways and receptors by which it regulates visceral muscles in the reproductive tract are not known. We find that the two octopamine receptors that have been previously implicated in egg-laying- and -are expressed in octopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons that project to the reproductive tract, peripheral ppk(+) neurons within the reproductive tract and epithelial cells that line the lumen of the oviducts. Further optogenetic and mutational analyses indicate that octopamine regulates both oviduct contraction and relaxation via and respectively.

Ethanol affects the development of sensory hair cells in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Children born to mothers with substantial alcohol consumption during pregnancy can present a number of morphological, cognitive, and sensory abnormalities, including hearing deficits, collectively known as fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The goal of this study was to determine if the zebrafish lateral line could be used to study sensory hair cell abnormalities caused by exposure to ethanol during embryogenesis. Some lateral line sensory hair cells are present at 2 days post-fertilization (dpf) and are functional by 5 dpf.

The role of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in proliferation and regeneration of the developing basilar papilla and lateral line.

Canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling has been implicated in multiple developmental events including the regulation of proliferation, cell fate, and differentiation. In the inner ear, Wnt/β-catenin signaling is required from the earliest stages of otic placode specification through the formation of the mature cochlea. Within the avian inner ear, the basilar papilla (BP), many Wnt pathway components are expressed throughout development.

Aminoglycoside-induced hair cell death of inner ear organs causes functional deficits in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Aminoglycoside antibiotics, like gentamicin, kill inner ear sensory hair cells in a variety of species including chickens, mice, and humans. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been used to study hair cell cytotoxicity in the lateral line organs of larval and adult animals. Little is known about whether aminoglycosides kill the hair cells within the inner ear of adult zebrafish.