Neele Wolterhoff

Par-1 regulation in dendrite pruning in Drosophila

The developmentally regulated degeneration of axons and dendrites without loss of the parent neuron, also known as pruning, is an important specificity mechanism during neuronal circuit formation in vertebrates, as well as invertebrates. We use c4da neurons of Drosophila melanogaster as a model system to study this process. During pruning, local microtubule disassembly leads to extensive thinning of dendrites in their proximal regions and enables severing at these sites later on. I am investigating how the kinase Par-1, a key regulator of microtubule disassembly, is regulated during this process and how the phosphatase PP2A contributes to c4da dendrite pruning.