Fassberg Seminar: Gene regulatory principles of nervous system development

One of the central questions in developmental neurobiology is how a developing organism can generate a vast array of distinct neuronal cell types. For a terminally differentiating neuron this questions boils down to a gene regulatory question: how is the expression of the distinct batteries of genes that define the terminal, functional properties of distinct neuron type induced and maintained? Through the decoding of cis-regulatory elements and forward genetic screens in the nematode C.elegans, my laboratory has begun to uncover what appear to some simple, phylogenetically conserved principles that underlie the generation of diverse neuronal identities.