Uncovering the natural history of Huntingtin

Although mutations in the huntingtin gene due to poly-Q expansion cause neuropathology in humans (Huntington's disease; HD), the normal
function(s) of the gene and its protein remain obscure. With information from recently sequenced invertebrate genomes, the study of new animal models opens the possibility of a better understanding of huntingtin function and its evolution. I will show how the key features of the protein have evolved over the last 650 million years though a comparative bioinformatic analysis. Then I will focus on the role of the protein in development in the invertebrate chordate C.
intestinalis , and uncover how the expression pattern and dynamics
show a more -complex-than -expected expression pattern.
Interestingly, the dynamic temporal and spatial expression patterns may indicate that the protein has multiple roles in ontogeny and cell migration. The simple structure of the protein in Ciona now offers it as a potential model to study polyglutamine -induced neuro-pathology.