Grant: Project Grant

For our nervous system to function each nerve that controls our movement or our response to touch, pain or temperature is bundled by a special cell layer that insulates and protects these nerves. The special cell layer is created by glial cells which surround or ensheath either individual neurons or bundles of neurons. Loss of the insulating layer leads to loss of nervous system function and degeneration or death of the neurons. While much is known about how the insulating layer develops, much less is known on how this layer is maintained as we grow and through adulthood. This is important because as we grow our nerves become longer and larger and the insulating glia need to match this grow. The same is true in adulthood where the glia need to maintain the insulation for decades. To understand how these processes are controlled we use a simple model system, the fruitfly, which has the same programs for the development of glia insulation and also has the same need for maintenance of the glia as the animal grows and in adults. We can use the simple nervous system of the fruit fly and powerful genetic approaches possible in this system to identify and understand how the glial insulation forms, expands and matures and use this knowledge to an understanding of glial insulation in all animals from flies to humans.