Investigating genetic and environmental factors controlling functional development of the brain
It is widely known that the developing brain is shaped by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors, however the mechanisms that dictate the consequences of the interactions of these two factors at the cellular and molecular levels are still largely unknown. The Bergeron Lab has a long-term goal to investigate how specific molecular genetic pathways and distinct environmental contexts contribute to altered brain formation and function. We study these conserved genetic pathways, temporal and spatial gene expression, neuroanatomy, and behaviors in an in vivo genetic model system, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) - a rapidly developing vertebrate that humans share ~70% of their genes with. Fertilization of zebrafish eggs occurs externally allowing us to manipulate the environments within which they are raised very easily and early on, starting at just the one-cell stage of embryonic development. In addition, a single female zebrafish can produce ~300 eggs per spawning, allowing us to monitor large groups of genetically related individuals undergoing synchronous stages of development in our weekly studies.
Our current focus is on some of the earliest expressed transcription factor encoding genes in the nervous system. These transcription factors are highly conserved in their expression patterns and also in their genetic targets across multiple organisms, though we will explore this further and are open to collaborations on this front. In the zebrafish we can study specific classes of neurons based on their gene expression profiles and functions from the moment that they are born in the embryo through adulthood in both living and fixed preparations using microscopy and a variety of existing and readily generated molecular genetic tools to make transgenic zebrafish lines. With now improved targeted mutagenesis strategies we can also alter any gene of interest and observe the resulting neuroanatomical and behavioral changes throughout the mutant verses wild type zebrafish lifetime.
Our genetic, environmental, and observed neuroanatomical changes can also be linked to alterations in many sensory driven behaviors in the fish starting when they are just a few days old. Using this model systems approach we hope to better understand some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie human neurodevelopmental disorders that are accompanied by changes in sensory driven behaviors.
Development of neural circuits for vision
Disrupted sensory processing has been reported as a comorbidity in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. One aim of our lab is to elucidate the molecular genetic network controlled by Gsx1 that directs the development and ultimately the function of specific neuronal circuits mediating sensory processing: primarily vision. To do this we are using a combination of microscopy, molecular genetic tools, and behavioral and neuroanatomical analyses. Current projects focus on axon termination in subcortical visual information processing CNS regions.
Transcriptional control of neuronal differentiation and function
A second aim of the lab is to build our understanding of the separate and overlapping roles of Gsx1 and Gsx2 transcription factors across the CNS through projects primarily conducted by undergraduate and graduate student researchers. Gsx2 is mutated in multiple cases of DMJ dysplasia syndrome in humans which provides potential translatability of our results.
It is widely known that the developing brain is shaped by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors, however the mechanisms that dictate the consequences of the interactions of these two factors at the cellular and molecular levels are still largely unknown. The Bergeron Lab has a long-term goal to investigate how specific molecular genetic pathways and distinct environmental contexts contribute to altered brain formation and function. We study these conserved genetic pathways, temporal and spatial gene expression, neuroanatomy, and behaviors in an in vivo genetic model system, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) - a rapidly developing vertebrate that humans share ~70% of their genes with. Fertilization of zebrafish eggs occurs externally allowing us to manipulate the environments within which they are raised very easily and early on, starting at just the one-cell stage of embryonic development. In addition, a single female zebrafish can produce ~300 eggs per spawning, allowing us to monitor large groups of genetically related individuals undergoing synchronous stages of development in our weekly studies.
Our current focus is on some of the earliest expressed transcription factor encoding genes in the nervous system. These transcription factors are highly conserved in their expression patterns and also in their genetic targets across multiple organisms, though we will explore this further and are open to collaborations on this front. In the zebrafish we can study specific classes of neurons based on their gene expression profiles and functions from the moment that they are born in the embryo through adulthood in both living and fixed preparations using microscopy and a variety of existing and readily generated molecular genetic tools to make transgenic zebrafish lines. With now improved targeted mutagenesis strategies we can also alter any gene of interest and observe the resulting neuroanatomical and behavioral changes throughout the mutant verses wild type zebrafish lifetime.
Our genetic, environmental, and observed neuroanatomical changes can also be linked to alterations in many sensory driven behaviors in the fish starting when they are just a few days old. Using this model systems approach we hope to better understand some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie human neurodevelopmental disorders that are accompanied by changes in sensory driven behaviors.
Development of neural circuits for vision
Disrupted sensory processing has been reported as a comorbidity in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. One aim of our lab is to elucidate the molecular genetic network controlled by Gsx1 that directs the development and ultimately the function of specific neuronal circuits mediating sensory processing: primarily vision. To do this we are using a combination of microscopy, molecular genetic tools, and behavioral and neuroanatomical analyses. Current projects focus on axon termination in subcortical visual information processing CNS regions.
Transcriptional control of neuronal differentiation and function
A second aim of the lab is to build our understanding of the separate and overlapping roles of Gsx1 and Gsx2 transcription factors across the CNS through projects primarily conducted by undergraduate and graduate student researchers. Gsx2 is mutated in multiple cases of DMJ dysplasia syndrome in humans which provides potential translatability of our results.