Neuroscience prof talks gene mutations

The behavior of a fly can tell people a lot about their own behavior, according to Seymour Benzer, James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology.

Benzer spoke as part of a symposium sponsored by the Franklin Institute and Penn's Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences. Benzer was in Philadelphia to receive the Franklin Institute's Bower Award for Achievement in Science.

For almost 40 years, Benzer has been studying the genetics of behavior using the common fruit fly. Benzer claims that many of his contemporaries, and even his own mother, thought he was crazy, but he was undeterred by their opinions.

Benzer spoke about the many genes identified in his lab that, if mutated, alter behavior. These genes are thought to shape behaviors ranging from sleep/wake cycles to love and courtship.

"He showed that mutations in single genes affect behavior," Penn professor of Genetics Maja Bucan said. "At that time, people believed it possible only in flies. Many years after, it has been shown for humans."

Many of Benzer's mutant fly strains -- with quirky names like "fruitless" and "dunce" -- are used at universities internationally, including at Penn.

Benzer spoke of the many scientists that were once students in his lab and that continued to work with mutations discovered there. "We provide the propositus and leave it to others to fill in the pathways while we move on to something else," Benzer said.

One former student, Nancy Bonini, worked with Benzer on brain degeneration and is now a Biology professor at Penn, where her lab focuses on fly models of Huntington's disease -- a progressive, fatal disorder that affects the brain.

Bonini credited Benzer for his role in getting the field of neurogenetics started.

"Seymour is one of the greatest scientists," she said. "He is truly a visionary."

Throughout his lecture, Benzer encouraged young scientists to take risks. "If everyone says you're crazy, that's not good news; but if half the people say you're crazy, you should take that as encouragement," Benzer said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.