SENSORY DISCRIMINATION IN A C ELEGANS NEURAL CIRCUIT

线虫区分不同的刺激鼻子触摸，高渗透压，挥发性驱虫剂。这些刺激被ASH感觉神经元选择性地检测和单独地转导，并且响应由简单的ASH激活的神经回路协调。要理解感官信息是如何传递以产生反应的，就需要理解电路的活动和驱动活动的分子机制。我将使用不同的荧光蛋白探针来观察ASH神经元及其突触靶点的活动，以检测完整动物中的膜去极化、一般突触囊泡释放和特定神经肽释放。为了了解感觉机制的一个组成部分，我将克隆和表征一个可能参与对特定刺激的反应的基因，特别是对应于rt 40突变的基因。以前曾假设，阿什特异性神经肽作为神经递质，分别传递特定于特定刺激的信息。为了理解突触上特定刺激的单独编码，我将在两个ASH特异性神经肽基因nlp-3和n1 p-15中产生突变，并分析它们对ASH感觉辨别和一般C的影响。优雅的行为这种分析将阐明感官信息如何被选择性地检测和单独处理。更广泛地说，它将定义神经肽在ASH神经回路中的作用。

C elegans discriminates between the different stimuli of nose touch, high osmolarity, and volatile repellents. These stimuli are selectively detected and separately transduced by the ASH sensory neurons, and response is coordinated by a simple, ASH-activated neural circuit. Understanding how sensory information is transmitted to produce a response requires understanding both the activity of the circuit and the molecular machinery that drives the activity. I will visualize the activities of the ASH neurons and their synaptic targets using different fluorescent protein probes to detect membrane depolarization, general synaptic vesicle release, and specific neuropeptide release in intact animals. To understand a component of the sensory machinery, I will clone and characterize a gene likely to be involved in the response to specific stimuli, specifically, the gene corresponding to the rt40 mutation. It has previously been hypothesized that ASH-specific neuropeptides act as neurotransmitters to separately transduce information specific to a particular stimulus. To understand separate encoding of particular stimuli at the synapse, I will generate mutations in two ASH-specific neuropeptide genes, nlp-3 and n1p-15, and analyze their effect on ASH sensory discrimination and general C. elegans behaviors. This analysis will elucidate how sensory information is selectively detected and separately processed. More broadly, it will define the role of neuropeptides within the ASH neural circuit.