QBI Seminar: Presynaptic mechanisms of general anaesthesia in Drosophila melanogaster

Event Details

Date:

Wednesday, 18 March 2015 - Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

QBI Level 7 Auditorium

UQ Location:

Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/neuroscience-seminars

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Oressia Zalucki
Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland

Title: Presynaptic mechanisms of general anaesthesia in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract:
Despite their ubiquitous clinical use, the molecular mechanism of general anaesthesia remains poorly understood. Synaptic release processes represent a likely target of general anaesthetics. Evidence for this comes from reductionist systems, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and cell preparations, showing that a truncated syntaxin1A protein can confer resistance to volatile and intravenous general anaesthetics. It is unknown whether this truncated syntaxin1A protein, or syntaxin1A more broadly, might also influence general anaesthesia in more complex animals endowed with a central nervous system, such as Drosophila melanogaster. In this talk, I will discuss general anaesthesia, and the role of molecular lesions to syntaxin1A in modulating general anaesthesia in the fly.