First Advisor
Andrea James
First Committee Member
Judith Leatherman
Second Committee Member
Patrick Burns
Degree Name
Master of Science
Document Type
Thesis
Date Created
8-2024
Department
College of Natural and Health Sciences, Biological Sciences, Biological Sciences Student Work
Embargo Date
8-2026
Abstract
There are several stages of development necessary for proper vision. During vertebrate eye development, early eye morphology progresses in three stages: optic cup morphogenesis, basement membrane breakdown, and tissue fusion. Eye development is an intricate collaboration between many cells and requires tissues to migrate and bridge together. The following research investigates the Danio Rerio eye development to understand the molecular regulation of choroid fissure closure (CFC). It is hypothesized that CFC requires temporal and spatial regulation of actin dynamics. We investigate this question using chemical inhibitors, cytochalasin D, an actin treadmilling inhibitor, and NSC23766, a Rac-GEF inhibitor of the actin treadmilling. By inhibiting these processes, we observed a reduction in CFC which led to higher presentation of colobomas. We see an increase of incidence of colobomas that correlates with higher concentrations of these chemical inhibitors. While our data indicates the temporal requirement, it is unclear if the exact timing is required or if the steps must occur in a progressive order during CFC. To address this, we conducted washout experiments of the inhibitors delaying the process 6 hours and allowing 24 hours for recovery. With cytochalasin D experiments data from a one-way ANOVA and Tukey test demonstrated there is statistical evidence of CFC recovery although this was not observed in NSC23766 experiments.
Abstract Format
html
Disciplines
Animal Structures | Sense Organs
Keywords
eye development; choroid fissure closure; Rac-GEF; Actin
Extent
61 pages
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by the author
Recommended Citation
Gonzalez, Cristal, "Determining Spatiotemporal Regulation of Actin Dynamics in Choroid Fissure Closure" (2024). Master's Theses. 322.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/theses/322