Ever wonder how single molecules know where to go inside cells? Me too! I am excited to announce the publication of my graduate work @PLOSBiology. We investigate how mRNAs are localized in myelinating oligodendrocytes of living zebrafish. Thread 1/7 https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001053

Hundreds of mRNAs are found in purified myelin. Yet, for the last 30 yrs the field has primarily investigated only 1 mRNA. Here, we build on the work of scientific legends & show that 3 out of 6 novel 3'UTRs promote localization in myelinating oligodendrocytes in . 2/7

To determine how the 3'UTRs promote localization, we used bioinformatics to identify 3 motifs that were shared between the localized transcripts. 3/7

We found that each motif is required to localize mRNA to sheaths during developmental myelination. However, only some were sufficient. This is where it gets interesting.... 4/7

Depending on the context, a motif may or may not be sufficient for mRNA localization. To tease this all apart, @doll_caleb and I expressed 22 different constructs in living zebrafish and measured mRNA abundance in myelin sheaths. 5/7

Finally, Becky O'Rouke (not on Twitter ) and I found that one motif in particular is enriched in the myelin transcriptome, suggesting this motif is a global regulator of mRNA localization to growing myelin sheaths. 6/7

This was possible because of the talented scientists who put in the hard work @jhhines2 @doll_caleb @AppelbhBruce & Becky. They are the most genuine, hard-working, & fun group I have ever had the pleasure of working with. Check out the other projects! 7/7 https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/pediatrics/sections/developmental-biology/faculty/appel-lab/personnel