Sarah Huntwork, 2004-2009

B.S. in Biological Sciences at Stanford Univ., 2003

Sarah generated and characterized mutations in complexin to study how this synaptic protein regulates neurotransmitter release.  The goal of the project is to further dissect the mechanisms of neurotransmitter release using a combination of Drosophila genetics, electrophysiology, and protein biochemistry.  Sarah focused on complexin, a 20 kDa alpha-helical protein that binds the SNARE complex at the groove between syntaxin and synaptobrevin.  Complexin knockout mice die shortly after birth.  In brain slices from these mice, the release probability of vesicles at the synapse is half what it is in non-mutant mice brains.  These data suggest that complexin is important for neurotransmitter release, but a mechanism of complexin's action has not been established. Sarah generated and characterized mutations in complexin and showed the protein functions as a fusion clamp at neuronal synapses.