Southard-Smith Group

Project Description

Knowledge of the developmental cues that promote growth, survival, and appropriate synaptic targeting during formation of pelvic ganglia is essential for regenerative strategies to repair pelvic innervation in adults. Presently, we do not know when distinct pelvic ganglia neuron subtypes appear during fetal organogenesis or what genes regulate their development and postnatal maturation – nor do we know the full complement of genes expressed in pelvic ganglia neurons at maturity. The goal of this Atlas proposal is to produce a unified, consistently annotated dataset that will provide researchers ready access to a portfolio of genes expressed in LUT autonomic neurons and neuromodulatory cells.