Cody Drozd, Graduate Student in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, will present a talk about his work entitled, “Kinesin-1 Heavy Chain UNC-116 and Cargo Adapter UNC-16 Promote Axon Termination Through Regulation of the NEKL-3 Kinase.”

The abstract is as follows:

The KIF5C gene encodes for kinesin-1 heavy chain and has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. Although the roles of kinesin-1 in axonal transport have been well studied, the mechanisms through which kinesin-1 regulates axon termination are not well understood. Axon termination is an important step in neurodevelopment and can be detrimental to the construction of the nervous system if termination does not occur correctly. Here, I report that kinesin UNC-116(KIF5C) promotes axon termination in C. elegans. Furthermore, the loss-of-function of kinesin-associated cargo adaptor UNC-16(JIP3) disrupts axon termination whereas the loss-of-function of kinesin light chains does not. Through the use of genetic analysis and imaging experiments, a loss of UNC-116 and UNC-16 function disrupts the localization of the NEKL-3(NEK6/7) kinase in the axon. Additionally, I show through genetic interactions that NEKL-3 interacts with RPM-1(Pam), a ubiquitin ligase that regulates microtubule stability in the growth cone of developing axons. These observations support a model where UNC-116 functions with UNC-16 to regulate the localization of NEKL-3 in the axon. NEKL-3, in turn, functions with RPM-1 to promote axon termination. Furthermore, this research uncovers novel roles for UNC-116, UNC-16, and NEKL-3 in axon termination.

The presentation will begin at 4:00 PM in Lapham Hall S160, preceded by an informal Q&A from 3:45 – 4:00 PM.