ZFIN ID: ZDB-LAB-061030-1
Washbourne Lab
PI/Director: Washbourne, Philip
Contact Person: Beadle, Keith
Email: kbeadle@uoregon.edu
URL: http://www.neuro.uoregon.edu/ionmain/htdocs/faculty/washbourne.html
Address: Institute of Neuroscience 1254 University of Oregon Eugene, OR 97403-1254
Country: United States
Phone: 541-346-5188
Fax: 541-346-4548
Line Designation: b


GENOMIC FEATURES ORIGINATING FROM THIS LAB
Show all 6 genomic features


STATEMENT OF RESEARCH INTERESTS
Information is exchanged between neurons at synapses, which are essentially
specialized sites of cell-cell adhesion . A mature synapse is defined as an
accumulation of synaptic vesicles within the axon, in close apposition to a
dendritic membrane studded with receptors,which are held in place by a
submembranous scaffold (Sheng and Kim, 2002). The formation of such an
intercellular structure requires spatially and temporally controlled changes
in morphology and molecular content at sites of contacts. Recent advances in
subcellular fluorescence microscopy have revealed that this process involves
the rapid recruitment and stabilization of both pre- and postsynaptic
elements. These studies have shown that major components of the synaptic
vesicle and active zone machinery travel in clusters together with other
presynaptic proteins, such as calcium channels, and are rapidly recruited to
new sites of contact (Ahmari et al., 2000; Zhai et al., 2001; Washbourne et
al., 2002).

On the postsynaptic side, receptor subunits and components of the scaffold
or post-synaptic density (PSD) are recruited separately and with distinct
time courses within minutes to hours after initial contact (Friedman et al.,
2000; Bresler et al., 2001; Washbourne et al., 2002; Bresler et al., 2004)

Despite these advances the basic mechanisms by which synapse formation is
induced at discrete locations and by which the molecular machinery is
recruited to sites of contact remain elusive. We are currently using both
mammalian primary neuronal cultures and zebrafish embryos to investigate
molecules that are involved in the mechanisms of synapse formation.
Techniques currently employed are live confocal imaging of
fluorescently-tagged synaptic components, electron microscopy, biochemistry
and molecular biology.


LAB MEMBERS
Easley, Courtney Graduate Student Hoy, Jennifer Graduate Student Beadle, Keith Research Staff
Constable, John Research Staff


ZEBRAFISH PUBLICATIONS OF LAB MEMBERS
Washbourne, P. (2023) Can we model autism using zebrafish?. Development, growth & differentiation. 65(8):453-458
Barazzuol, L., Cieri, D., Facchinello, N., Calì, T., Washbourne, P., Argenton, F., Pizzo, P. (2023) Unraveling Presenilin 2 Functions in a Knockout Zebrafish Line to Shed Light into Alzheimer's Disease Pathogenesis. Cells. 12(3):
Bruckner, J.J., Stednitz, S.J., Grice, M.Z., Zaidan, D., Massaquoi, M.S., Larsch, J., Tallafuss, A., Guillemin, K., Washbourne, P., Eisen, J.S. (2022) The microbiota promotes social behavior by modulating microglial remodeling of forebrain neurons. PLoS Biology. 20:e3001838
Ncube, D., Tallafuss, A., Serafin, J., Bruckner, J., Farnsworth, D.R., Miller, A.C., Eisen, J.S., Washbourne, P. (2022) A conserved transcriptional fingerprint of multi-neurotransmitter neurons necessary for social behavior. BMC Genomics. 23:675
Tallafuss, A., Stednitz, S.J., Voeun, M., Levichev, A., Larsch, J., Eisen, J., Washbourne, P. (2022) Egr1 is necessary for forebrain dopaminergic signaling during social behavior. eNeuro. 9(2):
Goode, C., Voeun, M., Ncube, D., Eisen, J., Washbourne, P., Tallafuss, A. (2020) Late onset of Synaptotagmin 2a expression at synapses relevant to social behavior. The Journal of comparative neurology. 529(9):2176-2188
Blanco-Sánchez, B., Clément, A., Stednitz, S.J., Kyle, J., Peirce, J.L., McFadden, M., Wegner, J., Phillips, J.B., Macnamara, E., Huang, Y., Adams, D.R., Toro, C., Gahl, W.A., Malicdan, M.C.V., Tifft, C.J., Zink, E.M., Bloodsworth, K.J., Stratton, K.G., Undiagnosed Diseases Network, Koeller, D.M., Metz, T.O., Washbourne, P., Westerfield, M. (2020) yippee like 3 (ypel3) is a novel gene required for myelinating and perineurial glia development. PLoS Genetics. 16:e1008841
Stednitz, S.J., Washbourne, P. (2020) Rapid Progressive Social Development of Zebrafish. Zebrafish. 17(1):11-17
Blanco-Sánchez, B., Clément, A., Fierro, J., Stednitz, S., Phillips, J.B., Wegner, J., Panlilio, J.M., Peirce, J.L., Washbourne, P., Westerfield, M. (2018) Grxcr1 Promotes Hair Bundle Development by Destabilizing the Physical Interaction between Harmonin and Sans Usher Syndrome Proteins. Cell Reports. 25:1281-1291.e4
Fierro, J., Haynes, D.R., Washbourne, P. (2018) 4.1Ba is necessary for glutamatergic synapse formation in the sensorimotor circuit of developing zebrafish. PLoS One. 13:e0205255
Stednitz, S.J., McDermott, E.M., Ncube, D., Tallafuss, A., Eisen, J.S., and Washbourne, P. (2018) Forebrain Control of Behaviorally Driven Social Orienting in Zebrafish. Current biology : CB. 28(15):2445-2451.e3
Fowler, D.K., Stewart, S., Seredick, S., Eisen, J.S., Stankunas, K., Washbourne, P. (2016) A MultiSite Gateway Toolkit for Rapid Cloning of Vertebrate Expression Constructs with Diverse Research Applications. PLoS One. 11:e0159277
Tallafuss, A., Kelly, M., Gay, L., Gibson, D., Batzel, P., Karfilis, K.V., Eisen, J., Stankunas, K., Postlethwait, J.H., Washbourne, P. (2015) Transcriptomes of post-mitotic neurons identify the usage of alternative pathways during adult and embryonic neuronal differentiation. BMC Genomics. 16:1100
Blanco-Sánchez, B., Clément, A., Fierro, J., Washbourne, P., Westerfield, M. (2014) Complexes of Usher proteins preassemble at the endoplasmic reticulum and are required for trafficking and ER homeostasis. Disease models & mechanisms. 7:547-59
Pietri, T., Roman, A.C., Guyon, N., Romano, S.A., Washbourne, P., Moens, C.B., de Polavieja, G.G., and Sumbre, G. (2013) The first mecp2-null zebrafish model shows altered motor behaviors. Frontiers in neural circuits. 7:118
Easley-Neal, C., Fierro, J., Buchanan, J., and Washbourne, P. (2013) Late Recruitment of Synapsin to Nascent Synapses Is Regulated by Cdk5. Cell Reports. 3(4):1199-1212
Tallafuss, A., Gibson, D., Morcos, P., Li, Y., Seredick, S., Eisen, J., and Washbourne, P. (2012) Turning gene function ON and OFF using sense and antisense photo-morpholinos in zebrafish. Development (Cambridge, England). 139(9):1691-1699
Wright, G.J., and Washbourne, P. (2011) Neurexins, Neuroligins and LRRTMs: synaptic adhesion getting fishy. Journal of neurochemistry. 117(5):765-778
Davey, C., Tallafuss, A., and Washbourne, P. (2010) Differential expression of neuroligin genes in the nervous system of zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. 239(2):703-714
Pietri, T., Manalo, E., Ryan, J., Saint-Amant, L., and Washbourne, P. (2009) Glutamate drives the touch response through a rostral loop in the spinal cord of zebrafish embryos. Developmental Neurobiology. 69(12):780-795
Pietri, T., Easley-Neal, C., Wilson, C., and Washbourne, P. (2008) Six cadm/synCAM genes are expressed in the nervous system of developing zebrafish. Developmental Dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. 237(1):233-246