557A Poster - 07. Chromatin, epigenetics and genomics
Thursday April 07, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Authors:
Reyhaneh Tirgar; Shannon Leahy; Kendal Broadie; Jared Nordman

Affiliation: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

Keywords:
n. other (histone chaperones); f. neuromuscular junction

Histone chaperones aid in the disassembly and reassembly of nucleosomes during the processes of replication and transcription. While histone chaperones have been studied extensively at the molecular level, there remain more open questions about understanding the broader role histone chaperones play during development and disease conditions. Our focus is on the Nuclear Autoantigenic Sperm Protein (NASP) chaperones for histones H1 and H3/H4. These chaperones are required for proper DNA replication, cell cycle progression and cell proliferation. In mammals, NASP is homozygous lethal, but the contributions NASP makes during development are largely unknown. To understand the consequence of NASP loss on development, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate a NASP null mutant in Drosophila. Zygotic NASP is not essential for viability, however, loss of NASP function results in female sterility. This suggests that maternally deposited NASP has a critical function during embryogenesis. Further, NASP null mutants display severe movement impairments. This striking lack of mobility suggests neurological or neuromuscular defects, which we are currently investigating.