Homeostatic plasticity fails at the intersection of autism-gene mutations and a novel class of common genetic modifiers

Özgür Genç, Joon Yong An, Richard D. Fetter, Yelena Kulik, Giulia Zunino, Stephan J. Sanders, Graeme W. Davis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We identify a set of common phenotypic modifiers that interact with five independent autism gene orthologs (RIMS1, CHD8, CHD2, WDFY3, ASH1L) causing a common failure of presynaptic homeostatic plasticity (PHP) in Drosophila. Heterozygous null mutations in each autism gene are demonstrated to have normal baseline neurotransmission and PHP. However, PHP is sensitized and rendered prone to failure. A subsequent electrophysiology-based genetic screen identifies the first known heterozygous mutations that commonly genetically interact with multiple ASD gene orthologs, causing PHP to fail. Two phenotypic modifiers identified in the screen, PDPK1 and PPP2R5D, are characterized. Finally, transcriptomic, ultrastructural and electrophysiological analyses define one mechanism by which PHP fails; an unexpected, maladaptive up-regulation of CREG, a conserved, neuronally expressed, stress response gene and a novel repressor of PHP. Thus, we define a novel genetic landscape by which diverse, unrelated autism risk genes may converge to commonly affect the robustness of synaptic transmission.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere55775
Pages (from-to)1-32
Number of pages32
JournaleLife
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020 Jul

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Neuroscience(all)
  • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)
  • Immunology and Microbiology(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Homeostatic plasticity fails at the intersection of autism-gene mutations and a novel class of common genetic modifiers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this