Regulation of endocytosis of synaptic vesicles

Hugo J Bellen

Hugo received his Doctor in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Ghent in 1983, his PhD in Genetics from the University of California at Davis in 1986. He then carried out postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Walter Gehring, in Basel, Switzerland. In 1989 he became HHMI investigator and Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). In 1996 he was promoted to Full Professor. He is also Director of the Program in Developmental Biology at BCM.

The goal of the Bellen laboratory is to define the role of specific proteins in exo- and endocytosis of synaptic vesicles (SV). These include proteins previously implicated on the basis of biochemical experiments (Sudhof, 2004) as well as new proteins isolated through genetic screens in the Bellen lab. Through forward and reverse genetic screens, they have identified mutations in numerous genes that affect neurotransmitter release, and have defined their function in vivo (Hiesinger et al., 2005; Ohyama et al., 2007; Stowers and Schwarz, 1999; Verstreken et al., 2003; Verstreken et al., 2009; Yao et al., 2009). They then perform secondary assays using immunohistochemistry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) on photoreceptor terminals to determine if synapses are structurally altered. By combining genetic analyses, protein localization studies, electrophysiological recordings, FM1-43 dye uptake experiments and TEM at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), they have provided valuable insights into the function of essential synaptic proteins. They recently identified two new genes, tweek and flower, not previously implicated in synaptic transmission and endocytosis. These will be the topic of Hugo's lecture.