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2012 Program Booklet - MCD Biology - University of Colorado Boulder

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William Sullivan, PhD<br />

Pr<strong>of</strong>essor, Department <strong>of</strong> Molecular, Cell &<br />

Developmental <strong>Biology</strong><br />

<strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)<br />

Title: Wolbachia, African River Blindness, and<br />

Big Sur<br />

Saturday, October 13<br />

4:45 – 5:30 pm<br />

JSCBB Butcher Auditorium<br />

Abstract:<br />

Wolbachia are obligate, intracellular, bacterial endosymbionts present in over 60% <strong>of</strong> all insect<br />

species. Manipulation <strong>of</strong> host reproduction and efficient maternal transmission have<br />

facilitated the global spread <strong>of</strong> Wolbachia in arthropods. Wolbachia are also present in filarial<br />

nematodes and are the leading cause <strong>of</strong> River Blindness and Elephantiasis. Our lab has<br />

focussed on the molecular and cellular interactions that mediate Wolbachia replication and<br />

transmission through insect and nematode germlines. Our studies demonstrate that efficient<br />

germline transmission <strong>of</strong> Wolbachia requires a developmentally coordinated association with<br />

plus and minus end motor proteins followed by a stable association in conserved germline<br />

determinants. In addition, Wolbachia manipulates host chromatin remodelers and the cell<br />

cycle to its advantage. Surveys <strong>of</strong> wild Drosophila populations reveals Wolbachia also stably<br />

populates host somatic lineages including the adult brain. Consequently we were able to<br />

generate stably Wolbachiainfected Drosophila cell lines. This facilitated high-­‐throughput cell-­‐<br />

based screens for small molecule compounds that specifically target Wolbachia. We descrbe<br />

the identification <strong>of</strong> Albendazole sulfone, an FDA approved metabolite <strong>of</strong> Albendazole, that<br />

specifically disrupts Wolbachia replication in Brugia malayi, the nematode associated with<br />

Elephantiasis and<br />

River Blindness.

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