The Role of Epigenetic Factors in Age‐Dependent Changes in Drosophila Melanogaster Visual Behavior and Photoreceptor Neuron Gene Expression.

Abstract

Age is a major risk factor for ocular disease. The goal of our lab is to understand the gene expression changes that occur with age. Our previous work shows that there is a visual senescence, the decrease in visual function with age, in Drosophila melanogaster. We have also shown that this age‐dependent decrease in visual function correlates with changes in gene expression. Epigenetic factors have been proposed to play a key role in maintaining ocular function with age. However, the epigenetic mechanisms that are involved in age‐dependent gene expression changes have yet to be identified. To address these questions we use Drosophila photoreceptor neurons as a model of the aging eye. We have conducted an RNAi screen of photoreceptor‐specific knockdown of these epigenetic factors which enables us to identify if they are necessary for visual senescence. Factors that are necessary for visual senescence can be further assessed for their role in gene regulation through photoreceptor‐specific RNA sequencing. This will identify the target genes of these factors, revealing potential mechanisms of age‐dependent regulation of gene expression. One specific factor is Brahma, the catalytic subunit of BAF, an ATP‐dependent chromatin remodeling complex. Preliminary data in the lab shows an enhanced visual senescence in Drosophila expressing a dominant negative Brahma in photoreceptors. Our current work is identifying the gene expression changes in these flies by RNA sequencing.Support or Funding InformationResearch reported in this poster was supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health under award number R01EY024905This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.