Publications by authors named "R Fetter"
Article Synopsis
- Microtubule doublets (MTDs) consist of an incomplete microtubule attached to a complete one and are found in cilia across many species, but how they form and are maintained is not well understood.
- Research identified the protein MAP9 (and its C. elegans homolog MAPH-9) as crucial for MTD assembly, which binds specifically to MTDs, influenced by tubulin modification.
- The absence of MAPH-9 leads to structural defects in MTDs and affects cilia function, indicating that MAP9/MAPH-9 is likely important in maintaining ciliary motor regulation and MTD structure in both worms and mammals.
Article Synopsis
- Nervous systems have a wide variety of neuron shapes and sizes, but how they manage their cell functions to support this diversity is not fully understood.
- The study reveals a strong correlation between the number of endoplasmic reticulum exit sites (ERESs) and the complexity of a neuron's dendritic structure, particularly highlighting the sensory neuron PVD.
- Factors like asymmetric cell division, the transcription factor MEC-3, and nutrient availability are crucial for maintaining ERES numbers and ensuring proper dendrite development, indicating that both developmental processes and nutrient sensing affect a neuron's ability to grow complex structures.
Brains contain networks of interconnected neurons and so knowing the network architecture is essential for understanding brain function. We therefore mapped the synaptic-resolution connectome of an entire insect brain ( larva) with rich behavior, including learning, value computation, and action selection, comprising 3016 neurons and 548,000 synapses. We characterized neuron types, hubs, feedforward and feedback pathways, as well as cross-hemisphere and brain-nerve cord interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrotubule doublets (MTDs) are a well conserved compound microtubule structure found primarily in cilia. However, the mechanisms by which MTDs form and are maintained remain poorly understood. Here, we characterize microtubule-associated protein 9 (MAP9) as a novel MTD-associated protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPresynaptic homeostatic plasticity (PHP) adaptively regulates synaptic transmission in health and disease. Despite identification of numerous genes that are essential for PHP, we lack a dynamic framework to explain how PHP is initiated, potentiated, and limited to achieve precise control of vesicle fusion. Here, utilizing both mice and Drosophila, we demonstrate that PHP progresses through the assembly and physical expansion of presynaptic signaling foci where activated integrins biochemically converge with trans-synaptic Semaphorin2b/PlexinB signaling.
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