Tanja Angela Godenschwege Assistant Professor PhD: Bayerische Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany Contact information Office: SC209 (office) and SC225 (lab) Phone: (561) 297-1390 (Office), (561) 297-0439 (Lab) e-mail: godensch@fau.edu

RESEARCH INTEREST

My lab uses the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model to understand brain development and function. In the nervous system the function and signaling mechanisms of many genes are evolutionarily conserved from flies to humans. We use anatomical, electrophysiological, molecular and genetic tools to analyze the roles these genes play in the assembly of a neuronal circuit and how developmental processes such as axon guidance and synapse formation are affected when they are mutated. Currently in the lab we are characterizing several genes such as L1-CAM/Neuroglian, Semaphorin, and Superoxide Dismutase (SOD). These genes are of relevance to a variety of neurological disorders and diseases such as CRASH syndrome (split brain), regeneration & degeneration, cancer and aging.

A second focus of the lab is to discover novel drugs that affect the function of the nervous system. The venom of cone snails is a complex mixture of bioactive small peptides and is used to capture prey. Isolated conopeptides have been shown to elicit a wide range of physiological effects. The combination of extreme diversity and targeted specificity has led to conotoxins emerging as highly valuable biomedical tools. They are used not only to study the physiological function of neuronal and muscular target molecules but also as powerful therapeutic agents for a variety of neurological disorders and conditions. In collaboration with Frank Mari‘s Lab in the Dept of Chemistry & Biochemistry we have developed a novel approach to screen conopeptides for biological activity in vivo.

PUBLICATIONS

Research articles
Chul Kim, Sapeckshita Srivastava, Marian Rice, Tanja A. Godenschwege, Brooke Bentley, Saranya Ravi, Craig T. Woodard, and Lawrence Schwartz (2009): “Generation of fruit fly model for human sporadic inclusion body myositis (s-IBM)”, in submission.

Godenschwege T, Forde R, Davis C, Paul A, Beckwith K, Duttaroy A (2009) Mitochondrial Superoxide Radicals Differentially Impacts Muscle Activity and Neural Functions in Drosophila. Genetics 183(1): 175–184.

Storkebaum E, Leitao-Goncalves R, Godenschwege T, Nangle L, Mejia M, Bosmans I, Ooms T, Jacobs A, Van Dijck P, Yang XL, Schimmel P, Norga K, Timmerman V, Callaerts P, Jordanova A (2009) Dominant mutations in the tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase gene recapitulate in Drosophila features of human Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106(28):11782-7.

Godenschwege, T. A. and Murphey R. K (2009): “Genetic Interaction of Neuroglian and Semaphorin1a during Guidance and Synapse Formation”,Journal of Neurogenetics, 23 (1): 147-155.

Uthaman, S. B.; Godenschwege, T. A.; Murphey, R. K (2008):” A mechanism distinct from Highwire for the Drosophila ubiquitin conjugase Bendless in synaptic growth and maturation”. Journal of Neuroscience. 28(34): 8615-8623.

Godenschwege, T. A; Kristiansen L. V., Uthaman B. S., Hortsch, M. and Murphey, R. K. (2006): "A Conserved Role for Drosophila Neuroglian and human L1-CAM in Central Synapse Formation". Current Biology, Jan 10;16(1):12-23.

Godenschwege T. A., Reisch D., Diegelmann S., Eberle K., Funk N., Heisenberg M., Hoppe V., Hoppe J., Klagges B. R. E., Martin J.-R., Nikitina E. A., Putz G., Reifegerste R., Reisch N., Riester J., Schaupp M., Scholz H., Schwärzel M., Werner U., Zars T. D., Buchner S., Buchner E. (2004): "Flies lacking all synapsins are unexpectedly healthy but are impaired in complex behaviour". European Journal of Neuroscience 20(3):611-622.

Murphey, R. K.; Froggett, S. J.; Caruccio, P.; Shan-Crofts, X.; Kitamoto, T.; Godenschwege, T. A. (2003): Targeted expression of shibire(ts) and semaphorin 1a reveals critical periods for synapse formation in the giant fiber of Drosophila. Development 130(16):3671-82.

Godenschwege, T. A; Hu H., Shan, X.; Goodman, C. S. and Murphey, R. K. (2002): "Bi-directional signaling by Semaphorin1a during central synapse formation in Drosophila". Nature Neuroscience 5(12):1294-301.

Löhr, R.; Godenschwege, T. A.; Buchner, E.; Technau, G.; Prokop, A. (2002):"Compartmentalisation of central neurons in Drosophila: a new strategy of mosaic analysis reveals localisation of pre-synaptic sites to specific segments of neurites".Journal of Neuroscience 22(23):10357-67.

Godenschwege, T. A.; Simpson, J. H.; Shan, X.; Bashaw, G. J.; Goodman, C. S. and Murphey, R. K. (2002): Ectopic Expression in the Giant Fiber System of Drosophila Reveals Distinct Roles forRobo, Robo2 and Robo3 in Dendritic Guidance and Synaptic Connectivity. Journal of Neuroscience 22(8): 3117-3129.

Godenschwege, T. A.; Buchner, S.; Pohar, N.; Buchner, E. (2000): "Insect tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases: Inflated wings, tissue autolysis, and early death in TIMP mutants of Drosophila". European Journal of Cell Biology 79(7): 495-501.

Pohar, N.; Godenschwege, T. A.; Buchner, E. (1999): "Invertebrate Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase: Structure and Nested Gene Organization within Synapsin Locus is Conserved from Drosophila to Man", Genomics 57(2), 293-296.

Klagges, B. R. E.; Heimbeck, G.; Godenschwege, T. A.; Hofbauer A.; Pflugfelder, G. O.; Reifegerste, R.; Reisch, D.; Schaupp, M.; Buchner S.; Buchner, E. (1996): "Invertebrate Synapsins: A Single Gene Codes for Several Isoforms in Drosophila", Journal of Neuroscience 16(10), 3154-3165.

REVIEWS
Hortsch, M.; Nagaraj, K.; Godenschwege, T. A. (2009): “The interaction between L1-type proteins and Ankyrins - A master switch for L1-type CAM function” Cellular & Molecular Biology Letters, 14(1):57-69.Peer-reviewed

Allen, M. J.; Godenschwege, T. A; Mark A. Tanouye, Pauline Phelan (2006): " Making an escape: Development and function of the Drosophila Giant Fibre System ". Sem Cell Dev Biol Review. 17(1):31-41.

Murphey, R. K. and Godenschwege, T.A. (2002): "New Roles for Ubiquitin in the Assembly and Function of Neuronal Circuits". Neuron 36 (1): 5-8. Peer-reviewed

BOOKS
Uthaman, S. B.; Godenschwege, T. A. (2009): “L1-type Cell Adhesion molecules: Distinct roles in synaptic targeting, organization and function”, Chapter 12 in: The Sticky Synapse Cell Adhesion. Molecules and Their Role in Synapse Formation and Maintenance(Umemori H, Hortsch M, eds), pp 247-263. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag New York.

Allen, M. J. ; Godenschwege, T. A. (2009): „Electrophysiological Recordings from the Giant Fiber System”. Chapter in Protocols of Drosophila Neurobiology, Cold Spring Harbor, in press.

LAB MEMBERS

Current
Jana Boerner, postdoctoral fellow (2009-)
Julie Freund, Lab Manager (2008-)
Sirisha Kudumala, Lab Manager (2007-2008) , PhD Student (2008-)
LaTasha H. Lee, PhD Student (2008-)
Monica Mejia, Masters Student (2007-2008), PhD Student (2009-)
Alexandra N. Busch, NSF-URM Undergraduate (2009-)
Christina M. Gambino, Undergraduate (2009-)

Alumni
Gabriela Botta, PhD student (2006)
Duniel Viera, Undergraduate (2007)
Alexandra Reid, Undergraduate (2007)
Ben Warner, Undergraduate (2007)
Clarissa Alexandra, Undergraduate (2007)
Carlos Gonzales, Undergraduate (2008)
Michael Lucchese, Masters Student (2008-2009)
Ryan W. Treu, Undergraduate (2009)

RESEARCH SUPPORT

Current

03/2008-02/2013         National Institute of Health (1R01HD050725-01A1):  “FUNCTIONAL ANALYSES OF NEUROGLIAN/L1 IN SYNAPTOGENESIS”
PI: Godenschwege

8/2009 – 02/2012         NIH/NICHD (R01 HD050725-02S1): Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
PI: Godenschwege

07/2009-06/2011         National Institute of Health (1R21NS066371-01):  “Efficacious Screening of Peptidic Natural Products Using Drosophila”
PI: Frank Mari, Co-PI: Godenschwege

Godenschwege Lab August 2009, From left to right: Tanja Godenschwege, Sirisha Kudmala, LaTasha Lee, Mari Heghinian (Chemistry Dept.), Alexandra Busch, Jana Boerner, Julie Freund, Monica Mejia