WormClassroom

The research aim of this lab is how crystal proteins may protect plants from nematode and other animals that are trying to eat them. C. elegans is used as a model organism to understand what makes the worms either susceptible or resistant to these substances.
An interesting side of this research is that nematodes have an innate immune system in contrast to higher animals which have an adaptive immune system.

Study of neurotransmitters release and mechanisms governing adaptation to nicotinic agonists is presented on this website

It is a great place to find various lab techniques used in C. elegans research.

Do genes influence behavior? Researchers from this lab are trying to determine the role of genes in the behavior of C. elegans. Sensory neurons in contact with noxious stimuli causes solitary behavior whereas positive environmental signals result in more social behavior.

Neural development studies in this lab concentrate on specialized neurons and synaptic connections between them. One of the projects examines genes responsible for expression of a phenotype which impairs the worm’s ability to move smoothly – what are the properties of the locomotive neuron and its genetic program. Another study examines the remodeling of motor neurons during life which is quite unusual: the cell morphology stays the same but information is reversed.

Synapses play a crucial role in brain signaling and, consequently, in behavior. The focus of Kaplan Group is to investigate signaling in the worm brain in relation to synaptic diversity and how differences between the signals affect their functions. A current project examines two G proteins (Go and Gq) that antagonistically regulate neurotransmitter secretion in specific synapses.

C. elegans is used to research neuron development. The major questions that interest this lab are: what does it take to form a highly specialized neuronal cell and what are the molecular processes involved in mechanosensation (the formation of the various senses).

Members of Portman group define their objectives in these questions: how does the genome encode the information that generates a functional nervous system, how do genetic regulatory networks ensure that neurons of the right type are generated in the right place, at the right time and in the right number, and how do the resulting neuronal circuits integrate sensory information and generate coherent behavioral outputs.

This neurological lab is investigating the development of sensory circuits indispensable not only for touch avoidance or chemotaxis but also for nicotine adaptation.

Research in this lab focuses on the olfactory and thermosensory neurons. The main areas of interest include the molecular basis that determines a cell’s neuronal fate, acquisition of specialized functions and plasticity of sensory behaviors (changes in neuronal receptors in particular life stages or under specific conditions, such as food depravation).

There are three stages to neural development: cell fate specification, axon guidance and synapse formation. The Shen Lab studies processes occurring during and after axon guidance, in particular synapse formation.

Research in this lab concentrates primarily on synapses, in particular GTP-ase proteins that participate in synaptic transmission. By investigating two rab proteins, researchers are trying to find out that what their role is in secretion. Another aspect of this project is identifying genes that regulate these processes.

The gene fax-1 is responsible for the development of certain neurons. The Wightman Lab is studying mutations in this gene that, in humans, may cause blindness by disrupting photoreceptors cells in the retina.

This website examines associative learning in C. elegans in the context of chemotactic movements. So far, researchers have found that worms can learn to distinguish between differnt ions. This type of analysis permits the study of genes necessary for learning.