Neurogenetics: Genetic Information in the Brains of Cephalopods

Course Instructor: Joshua Rosenthal

The coleoid cephalopods (squids, octopuses and cuttlefishes) display the most complex behaviors of all invertebrates. The number of neurons in their nervous systems, and the behaviors they are used to control, are comparable to those of mammals, despite the half billion years of independent evolution. To help us understand the cephalopod brain, there’s no better place to start than with its blueprint within the genome and how this information is encoded. This course focuses on genetic information. It will explore the novel gene families within the recently sequenced cephalopod genomes and then cover how the information from these genes can be systematically edited as it passes through messenger RNA, often in a manner that is dependent on the external environment. Finally, we will examine how these genetic novelties result in proteins that operate in different ways. Lab exercises will range from tracking RNA editing enzymes within cells using immunostaining and advanced microscopy, examining mRNA editing patterns across neuronal tissues using PCR and DNA sequencing, and testing the functional effects of RNA editing on ion channels using electrophysiological recordings. Students will conduct independent projects in these areas during the final week of the course. Cephalopod neurogenetics is in its infancy, giving students access to an area of current, novel discovery