Pheromone-Mediated Signaling in C. Elegans

所有动物都通过化学信号相互交流。这些信号使动物能够评估它们的环境，寻找食物，潜在的伴侣，并逃离捕食者。了解动物如何识别和响应这些化学信号对于更好地理解动物的发育和行为至关重要。我们正在研究动物与动物之间的交流，实验动物是蛔虫C。优雅C.秀丽线虫释放出一种复杂的化学物质混合物，作为其他蠕虫的拥挤信号。这个项目的目标是探索如何C。秀丽线虫检测到并响应这种拥挤信号。具体来说，目标是识别神经细胞和存在于其中的检测这些化学物质的蛋白质（受体），并研究检测这些信息如何改变这些动物的发育和行为。了解这一关键过程将为动物之间以及动物与环境之间的化学交流提供关键信息。该项目将为博士论文和一到两个本科高级荣誉研究论文提供基础。研究生和本科生将接受遗传学，行为研究，基因组学和分子生物学实验和理论基础的培训，并将有机会在地方和国家论坛上展示他们的工作。这项工作还将促进生物学家，物理学家和生物化学家之间的互动。

All animals communicate with each other using chemical signals. These signals allow animals to assess their environment and to find food, potential mates, and escape from predators. Understanding how animals recognize and respond to these chemical cues is essential for a better understanding of animal development and behavior. We are studying animal-to-animal communication in a laboratory animal, the roundworm C. elegans. C. elegans emits a complex mixture of chemicals that acts as a crowding signal for other worms. The goal of this project is to explore how C. elegans detects and responds to this crowding signal. Specifically, the goal is to identify the nerve cells and the proteins present in them (receptors) that detect these chemicals, and to investigate how detection of this information alters the development and behavior of these animals. Understanding this critical process will provide key information on chemical communication among animals, as well as between animals and their environment. This project will provide the basis for a doctoral thesis and one to two undergraduate senior honors research theses. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in the experimental and theoretical basis of genetics, behavioral studies, genomics and molecular biology, and will be provided the opportunity to present their work at local and national forums. This work will also foster interactions between biologists, physicists and biological chemists.