Barry Ganetzky, Ph.D.

Professor
Department of Genetics

ganetzky@wisc.edu

Trainer in the Following Programs:

  • Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Program
  • Genetics Program
  • CMB Program
  • Neuroscience Program

Honors and Awards:

  • 2006 - National Academy of Sciences
  • 2005 - AAAS Fellow
  • Currently Steenbock Professor of Biological Sciences
  • Past Recipient of NIH Career Development Award
  • Kingenstein Fellowship in the Neurosciences
  • McKnight Neuroscience Development Award

Research Description:

Our goal is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie neuronal development, signaling, and maintenance by isolation and characterization of mutations in Drosophila that alter the key proteins governing these processes. We aim to elucidate the in vivo functions of these proteins using a combination of genetic, molecular, morphological, and electrophysiological techniques to characterize the mutants and to understand how they perturb the process of interest. Using these approaches we have discovered and characterized genes encoding novel ion channels and components of the synaptic release machinery. Similar approaches are now being applied to studies of neurodegeneration and synaptic development and plasticity.

Fig 1. Brain sections of normal Drosophila (top) and a mutant (bottom) that exhibits neurodegeneration indicated by the presence of vacuolar pathology throughout the brain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selected Publications: Articles on PubMed

  • Fergestad T, Olson L, Patel KP, Miller R, Palladino MJ, and Ganetzky B. (2008). Neuropathology in Drosophila mutants with increased seizure susceptibility. Genetics. 178:947-956.

  • O'Connor-Giles KM, Ho LL, and Ganetzky B. (2008). Nervous wreck interacts with Thickveins and the endocytic machinery to attenuate retrograde BMP signaling during synaptic growth. Neuron. 58:507-518.

  • Muhammad A, Flores I, Zhang H, Yu R, Staniszewski A, Planel E, Herman M, Ho L, Kreber R, Honig LS, Ganetzky B, Duff K, Arancio O, and Small SA. 2008. Retromer deficiency observed in Alzheimer's disease causes hippocampal dysfunction, neurodegeneration, and AÉ accumulation. PNAS. 105:7327-7332.

  • Gnerer JP, Kreber RA, and Ganetzky B. (2006). Wasted away, a Drosophila mutation in triosephosphate isomerase, causes paralysis, neurodegeneration, and early death. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 103:14987-14993. PMID 17008404

  • Fergestad T, Bostwick B, and Ganetzky B. (2006). Metabolic disruption in Drosophila bang-sensitive seizure mutants. Genetics. 173:1357-1364. PDF PMID 16648587

  • Fergestad T, Ganetzky B, and Palladino MJ. (2006). Neuropathology in Drosophila membrane excitability mutants. Genetics. 172:1031-1042. PDF PMID 16272407

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