The effects of gene mutation on Olfactory Sensory Neurons in Caenorhabditis Elegans
Amira Brown
University of California, Santa Barbara
Abstract This experiment examines the effects of distinct odorants on chemotaxis behavior of the nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. Elegans). Nematode worms are appropriate for sensory physiology studies because its neuronal wiring is similar to that of humans. We focused on the role of three sensory neurons in the nose of the nematode—the 1) AWA and 2) AWC neurons are involved in chemo-attraction and the 3) AWB neurons are involved in repulsion. With the use of RNA interference (RNAi), we diminished or eliminateed specialized proteins within the worms to test if their olfactory …show more content…
elegans are best classified as nematodes that take the form of long cylindrical bodies with tapering ends that survive by feeding on bacterium and are free-living in soil (Edgley, 2015). C. elegans possesses a genome that presents a simplified prototypical nervous system that is particularly easy to observe at a molecular, cellular, and organismal level. This makes them an ideal model organism because they share the same characteristics necessary in the human body (Schafer, 2005). Chemotaxis refers to the movement toward, or away from, a chemical stimulus (Ferrée et al., 1997). Specifically, C. elegans has the ability to detect chemical odorants by using a pair of sensory organs at the end of their nose. These organs are composed of many neurons—AWA, AWC, and AWB neurons—specialized for chemical detection (Ferrée et al., 1997). Their short life spans cause them to grow quickly, in a matter of three and a half days a nematode can develop from a single-celled egg to an adult (Mitreva, 2014). They are grown in a lab using the E. Coli strain as their food source (Stiernagle, 1999). These are the reasons why C. elegans are useful, which gives us the ability to understand RNA interference …show more content…
Edgley, Mark (2015). What is Caenorhabditis elegans and why work on it? What is C. elegans.
Flower, D. R. (1996). The lipocalin protein family: structure and function. Biochemical Journal, 318 (Pt 1), 1–14.
Bürglin, and Aspöck. "The Caenorhabditis Elegans Distal-less Ortholog Ceh-43 Is Required for Development of the Anterior Hypodermis." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2001. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology (MCDB). "MCDB 1AL". Lab handbook. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Margie, Olivia, Chris Palmer, and Ian Chin-Sang. "C. elegans chemotaxis assay." Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE 74 (2013).
Mitreva, M. (2014). Genome: Caenorhabditis elegans. Retrieved 2016.
Sengupta, P., Chou, J. H., & Bargmann, C. I. (1996). odr-10 encodes a seven transmembrane domain olfactory receptor required for responses to the odorant diacetyl. Cell, 84(6),
Amira Brown
University of California, Santa Barbara
Abstract This experiment examines the effects of distinct odorants on chemotaxis behavior of the nematode worm, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. Elegans). Nematode worms are appropriate for sensory physiology studies because its neuronal wiring is similar to that of humans. We focused on the role of three sensory neurons in the nose of the nematode—the 1) AWA and 2) AWC neurons are involved in chemo-attraction and the 3) AWB neurons are involved in repulsion. With the use of RNA interference (RNAi), we diminished or eliminateed specialized proteins within the worms to test if their olfactory …show more content…
elegans are best classified as nematodes that take the form of long cylindrical bodies with tapering ends that survive by feeding on bacterium and are free-living in soil (Edgley, 2015). C. elegans possesses a genome that presents a simplified prototypical nervous system that is particularly easy to observe at a molecular, cellular, and organismal level. This makes them an ideal model organism because they share the same characteristics necessary in the human body (Schafer, 2005). Chemotaxis refers to the movement toward, or away from, a chemical stimulus (Ferrée et al., 1997). Specifically, C. elegans has the ability to detect chemical odorants by using a pair of sensory organs at the end of their nose. These organs are composed of many neurons—AWA, AWC, and AWB neurons—specialized for chemical detection (Ferrée et al., 1997). Their short life spans cause them to grow quickly, in a matter of three and a half days a nematode can develop from a single-celled egg to an adult (Mitreva, 2014). They are grown in a lab using the E. Coli strain as their food source (Stiernagle, 1999). These are the reasons why C. elegans are useful, which gives us the ability to understand RNA interference …show more content…
Edgley, Mark (2015). What is Caenorhabditis elegans and why work on it? What is C. elegans.
Flower, D. R. (1996). The lipocalin protein family: structure and function. Biochemical Journal, 318 (Pt 1), 1–14.
Bürglin, and Aspöck. "The Caenorhabditis Elegans Distal-less Ortholog Ceh-43 Is Required for Development of the Anterior Hypodermis." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2001. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.
Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology (MCDB). "MCDB 1AL". Lab handbook. University of California, Santa Barbara.
Margie, Olivia, Chris Palmer, and Ian Chin-Sang. "C. elegans chemotaxis assay." Journal of visualized experiments: JoVE 74 (2013).
Mitreva, M. (2014). Genome: Caenorhabditis elegans. Retrieved 2016.
Sengupta, P., Chou, J. H., & Bargmann, C. I. (1996). odr-10 encodes a seven transmembrane domain olfactory receptor required for responses to the odorant diacetyl. Cell, 84(6),