Meeting Abstract
Development of an organism is defined by the interactions among gene and protein networks. However network interactions are hard to functionally investigate, especially in vertebrates due to characteristics such as genetic complexity and long generation times. This network complexity is exemplified by the genetics of Autism Spectrum Disorders, a group of neuropsychiatric diseases for which the diversity of genetic and developmental components complicates our understanding of genotype/phenotype relationships. To address this complexity, we are using two experimentally amenable animal models in yeast and zebrafish. The strengths of these models are complimentary because we can address both common developmental processes and gene network interactions affected by ASD. First, we are developing zebrafish mutant models of the ASD genes SHANK3 and SYNGAP1 to identify neurodevelopmental processes affected by gene disruption. Second, we have recently established a method called Yeast Augmented Network Analysis (YANA) that couples yeast interaction assays with previously published protein-protein interaction data to identify disease susceptibility networks. Together these two models will help to identify common cellular processes affected by ASD gene mutations and the underling developmental gene networks that are susceptible to perturbations. Our goal is to exploit the evolutionary conservation of eukaryotic genetic interactions and cellular mechanisms to identify genetic or molecular modifiers that can ameliorate developmental disruptions in ASD.
