Presenter: Brittney Child, College of Sciences, Chemistry
Authors: Brittney Child
Faculty Advisors: Jim Hutchins, Dumke College of Health Sciences, Health Sciences
Institution: Weber State University
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects one out of every 160 children worldwide. The etiology of ASD is not known, but dozens of genes which are highly correlated with autism have been identified and given Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) scores which indicate the closeness of their association with ASD. We are studying ASD in a zebrafish (Danio rerio) model where embryos are treated with 50 μM valproic acid from 0-48 hours post-fertilization. Valproic acid is known to cause ASD-like symptoms when mothers use this common anti-epileptic drug during pregnancy. We are currently focusing on two genes with high SFARI scores, Ptch2 (part of the hedgehog signaling pathway) and lmxbb (a homeobox gene). Both of these genes are critical for synapse formation, and alterations in synaptogenesis are known to be a hallmark of ASD. We are studying expression levels, and the effect of valproic acid, for both of these genes using RT-PCR in early embryos (3-6 days post-fertilization). This allows us to measure the effect of valproic acid on formation of synapses in the zebrafish retinotectal system.