Studying Underlying Mechanisms of Usher Syndrome using Electroretinographic Recordings from Morphant Zebrafish, Dania Rerio
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Date
2009-05
Authors
Thelin, Isaac
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The immediate goal of this study was to gain insight into the molecular basis of Usher
Syndrome. Usher Syndrome is the leading cause of hereditary deaf-blindness and its
underlying mechanisms are studied at the University of Oregon using zebrafish as the
model organism. The Westerfield lab investigates the disorder using cytological,
molecular and behavioral analyses to unearth the molecular events that give rise to
Usher Syndrome's phenotypes. This study focused on understanding the visual
aspect of the disorder using the electroretinogram (ERG) as a mode of analysis.
Electroretinographic recordings of morphant zebrafish-fish displaying Usher
Syndrome phenotypes-were contrasted against wild-type zebrafish with hopes of
gaining insight into the disorder's underlying mechanisms and possibly drawing
conclusions regarding the nature of the Usher Syndrome based on experimental
recordings. Analyzing the major components of the ERG waveform was a central
part of this study. The a-wave, b-wave and d-wave of the ERG correspond to specific
neuronal synapses within the retina-the width and amplitude of each component
reveals something about the cellular activity at a particular layer within the retina.
Our experimental protocol met some challenges in controlling a number of
parameters, making the acquisition of meaningful data very difficult. Once a protocol
with the proper combination of parameters is developed, making meaningful
contributions to the study of Usher Syndrome will be possible.
Description
36 pages. A THESIS Presented to the Department of General Science and the Clark Honors College of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor of Science, May 2009. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call number: SCA Archiv Thelin 2009
Keywords
Usher Syndrome, Zebrafish, Visual aspect, Westerfield Lab