Presenter: Collette Goode
Faculty Mentor: Philip Washbourne, Alexandra Tallafuss
Presentation Type: Poster 64
Primary Research Area: Science
Major: Biology
The central nervous system depends on the appropriate formation of synapses between neurons to enable communication throughout neural circuits, which generates behavioral and cognitive functions. Recent studies have shown that some individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have an abnormal composition of the bacterial community resident, referred to as microbiota, within their intestine. Studies in mice suggest that the microbiota can signal to the developing brain, indicating that changes in the intestinal microbiota may underlie some of the deficits seen in ASD. We began to test this hypothesis by using zebrafish as a model to learn how the microbiota affect synapse formation. We used immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy to compare synaptic protein distribution in the brains of conventional and germ-free zebrafish. We focused on the forebrain, which is speculated to correlate with complex behavior in zebrafish. We labeled the pre-synaptic proteins SV2 and Synapsin1/2 to allow us to image and quantify synapse density in the telencephalon of germ-free and conventional zebrafish larvae at 6 days post-fertilization. We found a significant increase in the number of synapses expressing Synapsin1/2, but no difference in synapses expressing SV2 in germ-free compared to conventionalized zebrafish. Further study of synapse density, function and behavior of germ-free fish will promote our understanding of the correlation between the microbiome, synapse formation, and prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders.