Antonio Colavita, Ph.D.

office tel: (613) 562-5800 ext 8631
fax: (613) 562-5403
colavita@uottawa.ca

Scientist, Neuroscience, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Assistant Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa

Research Interests:

Genetic Analysis of Axon Branching in C. elegans.

Human behaviour depends on the coordinated development of billions of neurons into functional circuits and networks. This complexity is attained by the intrinsic properties and shapes of neurons and their remarkable ability to find and make successful connections with each other and their target cells. During neural development many connections are formed by collateral branches sprouting from a primary axon and most axons branch extensively upon arrival at their target sites.

What are the mechanisms involved in axon branching? Dr. Colavita's lab addresses this problem by studying axon branching in the simple nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans (a microscopic worm). Current work focuses on characterizing several recently identified genes, named bam (for Branching Abnormal), involved in axon branch formation, targeting, or termination of a specific set of neurons in the worm.

C. elegans possesses many advantages as a model animal, including rapid generation time, an invariant cell lineage, fully sequenced genome, and advanced genetic and molecular techniques. It is especially well suited for research in neurobiology given that the axonal wiring and synaptic connectivity of its relatively simple nervous system of 302 neurons is completely described and annotated. While C. elegans is a simple animal, it shares many of the same biological pathways and genetic mechanisms as more complex organisms such as humans.

Understanding the genetic players and mechanisms involved in axon branching may ultimately lead to the development of new drug targets or therapies that promote axon regeneration following brain injury or neurodegenerative disease.

Selected Publications:

Habibi-Babadi N., Su A., and Carvalho C., A. Colavita (2010). The N-glycanase png-1 acts to limit axon branching during organ formation in C. elegans. J. Neurosci. 30, 1766-1776.

Tanabe K., Hara I., Taniguchi N., and A. Colavita (2007). Dual enzymatic properties of the cytoplasmic Peptide: N-Glycanase in C. elegans. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 358, 837-841.

Zheng H., Coudiere L., Camia C., Colavita A., Culotti J.G. and D.C. Merz. (2007). C. elegans seu-1 encodes novel nuclear proteins that regulate responses to UNC-6/netrin guidance cues. Dev. Biol. 310, 44-53.

Colavita A. and M. Tessier-Lavigne (2003). A neurexin-related protein, BAM-2, terminates axonal branches in C. elegans. Science 302, 293-296.

Nash B., Colavita A., Zheng H., Roy P.J. and J.G. Culotti (2000). The forkhead transcription factor UNC-130 is required for the graded spatial expression of the UNC-129 TGF-beta guidance factor in C. elegans. Genes Dev. 14(19), 2486-500.

Colavita A., Krishna S., Zheng H., Padgett R. and J.G. Culotti. (1998). Pioneer axon guidance by unc-129 , a C. elegans TGF-beta. Science 281, 706-709.

Colavita A. and J.G. Culotti. (1998). Suppressors of ectopic UNC-5 growth cone steering identify eight genes involved in axon guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans. Dev. Biol. 194, 72-85.