Reeler. In 1951, the geneticist D.S. Falconer identified a spontaneous mouse mutant with an abnormal, “reeling” gait. This mouse, aptly called reeler, was later found to have developmental abnormalities of the cerebellum and, most prominently, an inversion of the layers of the cortex. At this point, interest was piqued to identify the underlying gene, which was eventually pinpointed in 1995. Reelin, the culprit gene, was found to be a secreted protein of cortical support cells and was subsequently found to be the cause of human lissencephaly with cerebellar hypoplasia (LCH). In a recent study in the American Journal of Human Genetics, reelin takes on a new role as a novel gene for a familial form of lateral temporal lobe epilepsy. Continue reading →