Molecular and Neuronal Regulation of Male Sexual Behavior in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Molecular and Neuronal Regulation of Male Sexual Behavior in Caenorhabditis Elegans PDF Author: Tiewen Liu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Molecular and Neuronal Regulation of Male Sexual Behavior in Caenorhabditis Elegans

Molecular and Neuronal Regulation of Male Sexual Behavior in Caenorhabditis Elegans PDF Author: Tiewen Liu
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description


The Neuromolecular Mechanisms that Coordinate Food Availability with C. Elegans Male Sexual Behavior

The Neuromolecular Mechanisms that Coordinate Food Availability with C. Elegans Male Sexual Behavior PDF Author: Todd Ryan Gruninger
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Organisms must coordinate behavioral and physiological responses to changingenvironmental conditions. In the nematode C. elegans, the presence or absence of foodin the environment affects many metabolic and behavioral responses, including fathomeostasis, lifespan, and male mating. Specifically, male mating behavior normallyoccurs when a well-nourished male encounters a hermaphrodite, and is repressed if themale is under-nourished. To understand how environmental changes influence the driveto carry out specific behavioral tasks, I used C. elegans male mating as a model. Previously, mutants were isolated that display male mating behavior at inappropriatetimes, i.e. in the absence of mating cues. Loss of function mutations in the ERG K+channel, UNC-103, results in spontaneous seizures of the male sex muscles. Interestingly, I found that food deprivation can suppress unc-103(lf)-induced seizures, suggesting that pathways activated under this environmental condition can suppress theexcitability of the mating circuit. Using molecular, genetic, and behavioral assays, I identified sensory andmolecular mechanisms that reduce sex-muscle excitability under food-deprived conditions. I found that mutations that affect the muscular feeding organ, the pharynx, phenocopy the effects of food deprivation, and reduce sex-muscle excitability. Idemonstrated that mutations in the pharyngeal muscle protein, tropomyosin, cause thepharyngeal neurosecretory motor neurons (NSMs) to increase pharyngeal excitabilityand reduce sex-muscle excitability. Additionally, I found that olfactory neurons (AWCs)with sensory cilia exposed to the environment are up-regulated in the absence of foodstimuli, and also send inhibitory signals to the sex muscles. To determine howchemosensory and pharyngeal neurons in the head can signal to the genitalia, Ihypothesized that one mechanism could be via secretion of metabolic hormones. To testthis, I examined loss-of-function mutations in the insulin-like receptor, DAF-2, which isknown to regulate many behavioral and physiological responses to food. I demonstratedthat DAF-2 activity in the sex muscles is required for food-deprivation suppression ofunc-103(0)-induced seizures. I then identified components of a novel-insulin-like/DAF-2signaling pathway that reduces excitability. Specifically, I propose that ligand binding toDAF-2 activates PLC- and leads to increased cystolic Ca2+. This Ca2+ influx activatesCaMKII, which can phosphorylate/activate EAG-like K+ channels, thereby reducing cellexcitability.

The Neural and Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Male Locomotion During Caenorhabditis Elegans Mating Behavior

The Neural and Molecular Mechanisms Regulating Male Locomotion During Caenorhabditis Elegans Mating Behavior PDF Author: Amrita Laxman Sherlekar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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In key survival behaviors like predator-prey interactions and mating, animals have to integrate dynamic sensory inputs from a moving target and regulate their motor outputs on moment-to-moment basis. The molecular underpinnings of such goal-oriented behaviors are not well understood because of the genomic and neural system complexities of many animals. Here I take advantage of the anatomical simplicity of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans and its amenability to optogenetics to interrogate the neural mechanisms underlying male mating behavior. Male mating is a goal oriented behavioral sequence and serves as a useful paradigm for exploring neural control of sex-specific behaviors, behavioral sequence execution and decision-making. When not engaged in mating the male, like the hermaphrodite, explores his environment with predominantly forward locomotion. However, when the male contacts a potential mate he immediately places his tail against her surface and searches for the vulva, moving backwards. Male-specific sensory rays of the tail are responsible for sensing mate contact, inducing tail apposition and backward movement. Using a combination of cell-specific laser ablation, optogentics and mutant analyses, I show that the male exploits the sex-shared locomotory system to control his mating movement. The rays exert their affect by acting through at least two downstream pathways. One pathway is defined by male-specific interneurons PVY and PVX which activate backward command interneurons AVA(L/R) and shift the directional bias to backward. This AVA activation is mediated by cholinergic receptor subunits ACR-18, ACR-16 and UNC-29, which is an atypical mode for command interneuron regulation. The second pathway is defined by male-specific interneurons EF1-3. EFs may promote backing by inhibiting sex-shared AVB(L/R) forward command interneurons. Upon vulva detection by the hook sensilla, locomotion ceases by the redundant action of hook neurons HOA and HOB. Surprisingly, PVY/PVX and EFs activity is required for holding the tail at the vulva. Taken together these data suggest that a distributed processing strategy underlies male's accurate, rapid and robust movement control during mating. The male-specific nature of his behavior is due male-specific control of sex-shared circuitry. Conceivably, similar design and processing strategies may underlie the circuitry controlling analogous behaviors in more complex nervous systems. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/155309

C. Elegans II

C. Elegans II PDF Author: Donald L. Riddle
Publisher: Firefly Books
ISBN: 9780879695323
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 1252

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Book Description
Defines the current status of research in the genetics, anatomy, and development of the nematode C. elegans, providing a detailed molecular explanation of how development is regulated and how the nervous system specifies varied aspects of behavior. Contains sections on the genome, development, neural networks and behavior, and life history and evolution. Appendices offer genetic nomenclature, a list of laboratory strain and allele designations, skeleton genetic maps, a list of characterized genes, a table of neurotransmitter assignments for specific neurons, and information on codon usage. Includes bandw photos. For researchers in worm studies, as well as the wider community of researchers in cell and molecular biology. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Evolution of Sex Determination

The Evolution of Sex Determination PDF Author: Leo Beukeboom
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019163140X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
Sexual reproduction is a fundamental aspect of life. It is defined by the occurrence of meiosis and the fusion of two gametes of different sexes or mating types. Sex-determination mechanisms are responsible for the sexual fate and development of sexual characteristics in an organism, be it a unicellular alga, a plant, or an animal. In many cases, sex determination is genetic: males and females have different alleles or different genes that specify their sexual morphology. In animals, this is often accompanied by chromosomal differences. In other cases, sex may be determined by environmental (e.g. temperature) or social variables (e.g. the size of an organism relative to other members of its population). Surprisingly, sex-determination mechanisms are not evolutionarily conserved but are bewilderingly diverse and appear to have had rapid turnover rates during evolution. Evolutionary biologists continue to seek a solution to this conundrum. What drives the surprising dynamics of such a fundamental process that always leads to the same outcome: two sex types, male and female? The answer is complex but the ongoing genomic revolution has already greatly increased our knowledge of sex-determination systems and sex chromosomes in recent years. This novel book presents and synthesizes our current understanding, and clearly shows that sex-determination evolution will remain a dynamic field of future research. The Evolution of Sex Determination is an advanced, research level text suitable for graduate students and researchers in genetics, developmental biology, and evolution.

Caenorhabditis Elegans

Caenorhabditis Elegans PDF Author: Henry F. Epstein
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0125641494
Category : Caenorhabditis elegans
Languages : en
Pages : 687

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Book Description
The first of its kind, this laboratory handbook emphasizes diverse methods and technologies needed to investigate C. elegans, both as an integrated organism and as a model system for research inquiries in cell, developmental, and molecular biology, as well as in genetics and pharmacology. Four primary sections--Genetic and Culture Methods, Neurobiology, Cell and Molecular Biology, and Genomics and Informatics--reflect the cross-disciplinary nature of C. elegans research. Because C. elegans is a simple and malleable organism with a small genome and few cell types, it provides an elegant demonstr.

Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster)

Behavioral Genetics of the Fly (Drosophila Melanogaster) PDF Author: Josh Dubnau
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107009030
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
A comprehensive portrayal of the behaviour genetics of the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) and the methods used in these studies.

The Physiology and Biochemistry of Free-living and Plant-parasitic Nematodes

The Physiology and Biochemistry of Free-living and Plant-parasitic Nematodes PDF Author: Roland N. Perry
Publisher: Cabi
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
"Written by leading research workers from Europe, USA, Australia and New Zealand, this is the only up-to-date reference book which reviews and integrates all the current research findings on the physiology and biochemistry of these organisms, including the molecular information which has accumulated in recent years.

Molecular Biology of the Cell

Molecular Biology of the Cell PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780815332183
Category : Cells
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Hormones, Brain, and Behavior

Hormones, Brain, and Behavior PDF Author: Carl Gans
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226281247
Category : Endocrinology
Languages : en
Pages : 588

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Book Description
Volume 18.