Contact

  • Academic
    kdelong@stanford.edu
    University - Student Department: Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology Position: Graduate

Work Experience

  • Research Associate, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (8/1/2021 - 7/15/2023)

    Worked in Dr. Feng Zhang’s lab on nanotechnologies and novel mRNA/ribonucleoprotein delivery tools

    Location

    415 Main St. Cambridge MA 02142

All Publications

  • Dpr10 and Nocte are required for Drosophila motor axon pathfinding. Neural development Lobb-Rabe, M., DeLong, K., Salazar, R. J., Zhang, R., Wang, Y., Carrillo, R. A. 2022; 17 (1): 10

    Abstract

    The paths axons travel to reach their targets and the subsequent synaptic connections they form are highly stereotyped. How cell surface proteins (CSPs) mediate these processes is not completely understood. The Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is an ideal system to study how pathfinding and target specificity are accomplished, as the axon trajectories and innervation patterns are known and easily visualized. Dpr10 is a CSP required for synaptic partner choice in the neuromuscular and visual circuits and for axon pathfinding in olfactory neuron organization. In this study, we show that Dpr10 is also required for motor axon pathfinding. To uncover how Dpr10 mediates this process, we used immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry to identify Dpr10 associated proteins. One of these, Nocte, is an unstructured, intracellular protein implicated in circadian rhythm entrainment. We mapped nocte expression in larvae and found it widely expressed in neurons, muscles, and glia. Cell-specific knockdown suggests nocte is required presynaptically to mediate motor axon pathfinding. Additionally, we found that nocte and dpr10 genetically interact to control NMJ assembly, suggesting that they function in the same molecular pathway. Overall, these data reveal novel roles for Dpr10 and its newly identified interactor, Nocte, in motor axon pathfinding and provide insight into how CSPs regulate circuit assembly.

    View details for DOI 10.1186/s13064-022-00165-5

    View details for PubMedID 36271407

    View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9585758