Developmental Specification of a Polymodal Nociceptor in C. elegans

所有的动物都依赖于它们对环境的感知和反应能力来生存。 对疼痛或有害刺激的感知具有重要的保护功能，并使动物回避或避免潜在的破坏性刺激。 我们对检测有害刺激的神经细胞（伤害感受器）如何发育的理解仍然存在很大的差距。 本项目将使用小型蛔虫C. elegans，以发现有助于伤害感受器发育的基因。 这一发现将使从无脊椎动物到人类的生物研究人员受益。 特别是，了解伤害性神经细胞的发育特徴可能会提供跨物种管理厌恶和疼痛的新方法。 研究生和本科生，包括妇女和少数民族学生，将参加这些研究。 布法罗大学（UB）是一个非常多元化的校园，为少数民族学生提供了很好的指导机会。 这笔赠款的资金将支持不提供本科研究机会的文科学院的本科生的夏季津贴。 提供早期接触假设驱动的研究是必不可少的准备学生在生物科学的职业生涯。 学生将在当地的区域和国际会议上展示他们的研究结果。这项工作的结果将包括在UB的本科发育生物学课程的讲座，并将形成一个特殊的主题研究课程的基础上，为研究生。 C. elegans是两个ASH头部感觉神经元。 这些神经元检测多种形式的厌恶刺激。 该项目旨在揭示活体动物中ASHs在其天然环境中的神经元身份代码。 拟议的实验将首先确定C的作用。elegans配对样同源结构域转录因子<$A-42在ASH伤害性神经元发育特化中的作用。 然后，RNAi筛选将鉴定建立ASH身份所需的转录因子的完整群组。 该奖项产生的转基因动物将被存放在Cairrhabditis遗传中心，该中心将向任何要求它们的研究者分发它们。 新的基因和表型描述也将被纳入“Wormbase”http://www.wormbase.org/，一个在线开放获取资源。

All animals rely on their ability to sense and respond to the environment to survive. The perception of pain or noxious stimuli serves an important protective function and causes animals to withdraw from or avoid potentially damaging stimuli. There are still large gaps in our understanding of how the nerve cells that detect noxious stimuli (nociceptors) develop. This project will use the small roundworm, C. elegans, to discover the genes that contribute to nociceptor development. The findings will benefit researchers working in organisms ranging from invertebrates to humans. In particular, understanding the developmental specification of nociceptive nerve cells may provide new ways to manage aversion and pain across species. Graduate students and undergraduates, including women and minority students, will participate in these studies. The University at Buffalo (UB) is a very diverse campus, providing a great opportunity to mentor minority students. Funds from this grant will support a summer stipend for an undergraduate from a Liberal Arts College that does not offer opportunities for undergraduate research. Providing early exposure to hypothesis-driven research is essential for preparing students for careers in the biological sciences. Students will present their findings at local regional and international meetings. Findings from this work will be included in the lectures for UB's undergraduate Developmental Biology course and will form the basis for a special topics research course for graduate students. The primary nociceptors in C. elegans are the two ASH head sensory neurons. These neurons detect multiple forms of aversive stimuli. This project aims to reveal the neuronal identity code of the ASHs in their native environment in live animals. The proposed experiments will first define the role of the C. elegans paired-like homeodomain transcription factor UNC-42 in the developmental specification of the ASH nociceptive neurons. RNAi screening will then identify the complete cohort of transcription factors required to establish ASH identity. Transgenic animals resulting from this award will be deposited at the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, which will distribute them to any investigator that requests them. New gene and phenotype descriptions will also be incorporated into "Wormbase" http://www.wormbase.org/ ,an online open access resource.