AWCON Mediates Navigation to Preferred Range of Field strength in a DC Electric Field
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Room 137B
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Electrotaxis, C.elegans, Neurons
Abstract
C. elegans will orient and travel in a straight uninterrupted path directly towards the negative pole of a DC electric field, a behavior referred to as electrotaxis. Additionally, animals widen their approach angles proportionally to increasing field strength. To elucidate the neural basis for this behavior we utilized an approximately uniform field that is fixed in direction and magnitude. We determined that C. elegans navigate to a specific gradient of field strength by altering approach trajectories towards the negative pole. eat-4 mutants are severely electrotaxis defective and addition of the wild-type eat-4 gene in AWC neurons recovers the behavior. The pair of AWC neurons are functionally asymmetric in regard to chemotaxis and have been shown to express different genes; in particular, the AWCON neuron expresses the STR-2 receptor. To test the role of the AWC neurons in electrotaxis behavior we examined: ceh-36 mutant animals, which are defective in the terminal differentiation of the AWC neurons, inx-19 mutants, which express both neurons as AWCOFF/OFF, and nsy-1 mutants, which express both neurons as AWCON. We found that only nsy-1 mutant animals are able to sense field gradient, suggesting AWCON is required for electrotaxis behavior. Here, we demonstrated that AWCON functions as an electro-sensory neuron allowing animals to sense and adjust approach trajectories angles to match the preferred field strength.
Recommended Citation
Chrisman, Steven; Waite, Christopher; and Foss, Eric, "AWCON Mediates Navigation to Preferred Range of Field strength in a DC Electric Field " (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 47.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/oralpresentations/47
Additional Mentoring Department
Biological Sciences
AWCON Mediates Navigation to Preferred Range of Field strength in a DC Electric Field
SURC Room 137B
C. elegans will orient and travel in a straight uninterrupted path directly towards the negative pole of a DC electric field, a behavior referred to as electrotaxis. Additionally, animals widen their approach angles proportionally to increasing field strength. To elucidate the neural basis for this behavior we utilized an approximately uniform field that is fixed in direction and magnitude. We determined that C. elegans navigate to a specific gradient of field strength by altering approach trajectories towards the negative pole. eat-4 mutants are severely electrotaxis defective and addition of the wild-type eat-4 gene in AWC neurons recovers the behavior. The pair of AWC neurons are functionally asymmetric in regard to chemotaxis and have been shown to express different genes; in particular, the AWCON neuron expresses the STR-2 receptor. To test the role of the AWC neurons in electrotaxis behavior we examined: ceh-36 mutant animals, which are defective in the terminal differentiation of the AWC neurons, inx-19 mutants, which express both neurons as AWCOFF/OFF, and nsy-1 mutants, which express both neurons as AWCON. We found that only nsy-1 mutant animals are able to sense field gradient, suggesting AWCON is required for electrotaxis behavior. Here, we demonstrated that AWCON functions as an electro-sensory neuron allowing animals to sense and adjust approach trajectories angles to match the preferred field strength.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Carnell, Lucinda