ZFIN ID: ZDB-PERS-970113-1
Ngai, John
Email: jngai@socrates.berkeley.edu
URL: http://mcb.berkeley.edu/faculty/NEU/ngaij.html
Affiliation: Ngai Lab
Address: Department of Molecular & Cell Biology University of California 269 Life Sciences Addition Berkeley, CA 94720-3200 USA
Country: United States
Phone: (510) 642-9885
Fax: (510) 643-2685
ORCID ID:


BIOGRAPHY AND RESEARCH INTERESTS
Olfaction presents an interesting and complex problem in perception: how does the olfactory apparatus of vertebrates detect and discriminate thousands of odors? Our approach to elucidating the mechanisms of olfactory discrimination involves the characterization of odorant receptors and the neural pathways that they activate. We are also interested in the developmental mechanisms responsible for specifying odorant receptor expression in olfactory neurons and the pathfinding of these cells' axons to their appropriate targets.


PUBLICATIONS
Covello, G., Rossello, F.J., Filosi, M., Gajardo, F., Duchemin, A.L., Tremonti, B.F., Eichenlaub, M., Polo, J.M., Powell, D., Ngai, J., Allende, M.L., Domenici, E., Ramialison, M., Poggi, L. (2020) Transcriptome analysis of the zebrafish atoh7-/- Mutant, lakritz, highlights Atoh7-dependent genetic networks with potential implications for human eye diseases. FASEB bioAdvances. 2:434-448
Risso, D., Ngai, J., Speed, T.P., Dudoit, S. (2014) Normalization of RNA-seq data using factor analysis of control genes or samples. Nature Biotechnology. 32:896-902
Ferreira, T., Wilson, S.R., Choi, Y.G., Risso, D., Dudoit, S., Speed, T.P., Ngai, J. (2014) Silencing of Odorant Receptor Genes by G Protein βγ Signaling Ensures the Expression of One Odorant Receptor per Olfactory Sensory Neuron. Neuron. 81(4):847-59
Demaria, S., Berke, A.P., Van Name, E., Heravian, A., Ferreira, T., and Ngai, J. (2013) Role of a ubiquitously expressed receptor in the vertebrate olfactory system. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 33(38):15235-15247
Duggan, C.D., Demaria, S., Baudhuin, A., Stafford, D., and Ngai, J. (2008) Foxg1 is required for development of the vertebrate olfactory system. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 28(20):5229-5239
French, C.R., Erickson, T., Callander, D., Berry, K.M., Koss, R., Hagey, D.W., Stout, J., Wuennenberg-Stapleton, K., Ngai, J., Moens, C.B., and Waskiewicz, A.J. (2007) Pbx homeodomain proteins pattern both the zebrafish retina and tectum. BMC Developmental Biology. 7(1):85
Alioto, T.S., and Ngai, J. (2006) The repertoire of olfactory C family G protein-coupled receptors in zebrafish: candidate chemosensory receptors for amino acids. BMC Genomics. 7(1):309
Alioto, T.S., and Ngai, J. (2005) The odorant receptor repertoire of teleost fish. BMC Genomics. 6:173
Weidinger, G., Thorpe, C.J., Wuennenberg-Stapleton, K., Ngai, J., and Moon, R.T. (2005) The Sp1-Related Transcription Factors sp5 and sp5-like Act Downstream of Wnt/beta-Catenin Signaling in Mesoderm and Neuroectoderm Patterning. Current biology : CB. 15(6):489-500
Luu, P., Acher, F., Bertrand, H.O., Fan, J., and Ngai, J. (2004) Molecular determinants of ligand selectivity in a vertebrate odorant receptor. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 24(45):10128-10137
Kratz, E., Dugas, J.C., and Ngai, J. (2002) Odorant receptor gene regulation: implications from genomic organization. Trends in genetics : TIG. 18(1):29-34
Dugas, J.C. and Ngai, J. (2001) Analysis and characterization of an odorant receptor gene cluster in the zebrafish genome. Genomics. 71(1):53-65
Dynes, J.L. and Ngai, J. (1998) Pathfinding of olfactory neuron axons to stereotyped glomerular targets revealed by dynamic imaging in living zebrafish embryos. Neuron. 20:1081-1091
Barth, A.L., Dugas, J.C., and Ngai, J. (1997) Noncoordinate expression of odorant receptor genes tightly linked in the zebrafish genome. Neuron. 19(2):359-369
Barth, A.L., Justice, N.J., and Ngai, J. (1996) Asynchronous onset of odorant receptor expression in the developing zebrafish olfactory system. Neuron. 16:23-34

NON-ZEBRAFISH PUBLICATIONS
Brunet, L.J., G.H. Gold, and J. Ngai. 1996. General anosmia caused by a targeted disruption of the mouse olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel. Neuron 17, 681-693.

Speca, D.J., D.M. Lin, P.W. Sorensen, E.Y. Isacoff, J. Ngai, and A.H. Dittman. 1999. Functional identification of a goldfish odorant receptor. Neuron 23, 487-498.

Lin, D.M., F. Wang, G. Lowe, G. H. Gold, R. Axel, J. Ngai, and L. Brunet. 2000. Formation of precise synaptic connections in the olfactory bulb occurs in the absence of odorant-evoked neuronal activity. Neuron 26, 69-80.