We have isolated a number of conditionally immortalised olfactory placode (OP) cell lines in our labortary. These cell lines were derived by infecting primary cultures of cells taken from the olfactory placodes of embryonic mice (E10.5), with retrovirus carrying temperature-sensitive alleles of the SV40 large T antigen. The cells multiply at the permissive temperature of 33°C, but cease dividing when cultured at 39°C. The cell lines express a number of markers that are characteristic of neuroepithelial cells such as nestin. We are using these cell lines as a model system to study neuronal differentiation. Two studies are currently making use of this resource:

• Characterisation of novel genes from the olfactory neuroepithelial OP cell lines.
• Identification of proteins that interact with Brain Factor 1. We are using a variety of methods to identify proteins that interact with the brain transcription factor, Brain Factor-1 (BF-1). BF-1 plays a crucial role in the development of the forebrain in vertebrates.
• Cloning of genes for GnRH and GnRH receptors from zebrafish and to study the paths of neurons expressing gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) and GnRH receptors during vertebrate development. My laboratory has been given the task to clone these from the vertebrate model organism, zebrafish.

I am part of a UCT group that has been funded by the Department of Arts, Science and Technology to develop drought and pathogen tolerant plants. This grant is for three years starting January 2000. The other members of the group are Jill Farrant, Sagadevan Mundree, Katherine Denby, Sean Davison (UWC) and Hennie du Plessis (Infruitec). My main responsibility will be to characterise genes that confer desiccation tolerance on the resurrection plant, Xerophyta humilis. The main questions that will be asked are:
1. Which proteins and genes are turned on in the resurrection plant, Xerophyta humilis, during rehydration?
2. Where and when are these genes expressed during dehydration and rehydration?
3. Where and when are the proteins corresponding to these genes expressed during dehydration and rehydration?
4. Do these gene products confer desiccation and rehydration tolerance on other plants?

Another field of interest in my laboratory is how plants catch their food and trying to understand the molecular basis of signalling in the carnivorous plant, Drosera capensis. This is a totally unexplored research area, and could be developed as an excellent model system for studying signal transduction in plants. We will use a variety of toxins to see whether the G-protein coupled receptor signal transduction pathway is involved in sensing prey in Drosera. A second part of the project will analyse the role of actin polymerisation in the prey response. This work will be done in close collaboration with Assoc. Prof Jill Farrant.

Click here for the full list of my publications (1989-2009)

1. Illing N, Klak C, Johnson C, Brito D, Negrao N, Baine F, van Kets V, Ramchurn KR, Seoighe C, Roden L. 2009 Duplication of the Asymmetic Leaves1/Rough Sheath 2/Phantastica (ARP) gene precedes the explosive radiation of the Ruschioideae. Development, Genes, and Evolution 219:331-338

2. Hockman D, Mason MK, Jacobs DS, Illing N. 2009 The role of early development in mammalian limb diversification: a descriptive comparison of early limb development between the Natal long-fingered bat (Miniopterus natalensis) and the mouse (Mus musculus). Developmental Dynamics 238:965-79

3. Hockman D, Cretekos CJ, Mason MK, Behringer RR, Jacobs DS, Illing N. 2008 A second wave of Sonic hedgehog expression during the development of the bat limb. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 105:16982-7.

4. Mulako I, Farrant JM, Collett H, Illing N. 2008. Expression of Xhdsi-1^VOC, a novel member of the vicinal oxygen chelate (VOC) metalloenzyme superfamily, is up-regulated in leaves and roots during desiccation in the resurrection plant Xerophyta humilis (Bak) Dur and Schinz. J Exp Bot. 59:3885-901.

5. Ingle RA, Collett H, Cooper K, Takahashi Y, Farrant JM, Illing N. 2008. Chloroplast biogenesis during rehydration of the resurrection plant Xerophyta humilis: Parallels to the etioplast-chloroplast transition. Plant Cell Environ. 31: 1813-1824

6. van Heerden, J, S-A Walford, A Shen and N. Illing. 2007 A framework for the informed normalization of printed microarrays. South African Journal of Science. 103: 381-390

7. Flanagan, CA, CC Chen, M Coetsee, S. Mamputha, K.E. Whitlock, N. Bredenkamp, L. Grosenick, R.D. Fernald, and N. Illing. 2007 Expression, structure, function and evolution of GnRH receptors GnRH-R1^SHS and GnRH-R2^PEY in the teleost, Astatotilapia burtoni. Endocrinology. 148: 5060-5071

8. Regad, T., M. Roth, N. Bredenkamp, N. Illing and N. Papalopulu. 2007. The neural progenitor-specifying activity of FoxG1 is antagonistically regulated by CKI and FGF. Nature Cell Biology.9:531-540

9. Bredenkamp, N. C. Seioghe, N. Illing. 2007 Comparative evolutionary analysis of the FoxG1 transcripton factor from diverse vertebrates identifies conserved recognition sites for microRNA regulation. Dev Genes Evol 217:227-33

10. Stein DJ, Daniels W, Emsley R, Harvey B, Blackburn J, Carey P, Ellis G, Illing N, Flisher A, Moolman-Smook H, Mwaba K, Ramesar R, Russell V, Seedat S, Tredoux C, Vaughan CL, Vythilingum B, Warwick J. 2006 A brain-behaviour initiative for South Africa: the time is right. Metab Brain Dis.21:279-84

11. Whitlock, K E, N Illing, N Brideau, K Smith and S Twomey. 2006. Development of GnRH cells: setting the stage for puberty. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. 254:39-50

12. Illing, N, K Denby, H Collett, A Shen and JM Farrant. 2005 The signature of seeds in resurrection plants: a molecular and physiological comparison of desiccation tolerance in seeds and vegetative tissues. Integrative & Comparative Biology 45: 771-787

13. Collett, H, A Shen, M Gardner, JM Farrant, KJ Denby and N. Illing. 2004 Towards transcript profiling of desiccation tolerance in Xerophyta humilis (Bak.) Dur and Schinz: Construction of a normalized 11 k X. humilis cDNA set and microarray expression analysis of 424 cDNAs in response to dehydration. Physiologia Plantarum 122:39-5

Students
Athur Shen (PhD)

Mandy Mason (PhD; co-supervised by David Jacobs, Dept Zoology)

Zek Ginbot (PhD; co-supervisor, supervisor: Jill Farrant)

Denise Brito (MSc; co-supervised by David Jacobs, Dept Zoology)

Rafe Lyall (BSc Hons)