C. Elegans Essay
1.3 C. elegans sensory system
C. elegans is a simple multicellular organism, and, like other animals, it constantly perceives environmental cues and elicits appropriate physiological responses. Remarkably, this process is achieved with only a small number of neurons. An adult C. elegans hermaphrodite nervous system harbors 302 neurons, which have been grouped into 118 distinct classes according to their topology and synaptic connection pattern (Ward, 1975 #4;Sulston, 1977 #8;Sulston, 1983 #9;Ward, 1975 #4;Sulston, 1977 #8;Sulston, 1983 #9;Ward, 1975 #4;White, 1986 #3). The sensory system of C. elegans is highly developed, in fact, much of its nervous system and more than 5 % of its genes are committed to the perception of environmental chemicals (Bargmann 2006). In response to chemosensory cues, animals can display many different behaviors …show more content…
They are the largest chemosensory organs in C. elegans (Altun and Hall, 2010). Each amphid includes twelve ciliated sensory neurons (AFD, ADF, ADL, ASE, ASG, ASH, ASI, ASJ, ASK, AWA, AWB, AWC) that function in taste reception, olfaction, nociception, osmotaxis, thermosensation, mechanosensation, and pheromone perception (Bargmann and Mori, 1997; Driscoll and Kaplan, 1997; Riddle and Albert, 1997; Bargmann, 2006; Altun and Hall, 2010; Figure 3). In addition, each amphid sensory neuron expresses a specific set of candidate receptors, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and/or transmembrane guanylyl cyclase (GCY) that serve as the first interface between the external environment and the nervous system (Fielenbach and Antebi, 2008). Upon receiving environmental signals, two downstream neurosensory transduction systems are initiated, one uses cGMP (converted from GTP by GCY in response to G-protein signaling or extracellular ligands) as a second messenger to activate cGMP-gated ion channels; the other one uses TRPV channels. Moreover, sensory homeostasis and adaptation are largely regulated by kinases
C. elegans is a simple multicellular organism, and, like other animals, it constantly perceives environmental cues and elicits appropriate physiological responses. Remarkably, this process is achieved with only a small number of neurons. An adult C. elegans hermaphrodite nervous system harbors 302 neurons, which have been grouped into 118 distinct classes according to their topology and synaptic connection pattern (Ward, 1975 #4;Sulston, 1977 #8;Sulston, 1983 #9;Ward, 1975 #4;Sulston, 1977 #8;Sulston, 1983 #9;Ward, 1975 #4;White, 1986 #3). The sensory system of C. elegans is highly developed, in fact, much of its nervous system and more than 5 % of its genes are committed to the perception of environmental chemicals (Bargmann 2006). In response to chemosensory cues, animals can display many different behaviors …show more content…
They are the largest chemosensory organs in C. elegans (Altun and Hall, 2010). Each amphid includes twelve ciliated sensory neurons (AFD, ADF, ADL, ASE, ASG, ASH, ASI, ASJ, ASK, AWA, AWB, AWC) that function in taste reception, olfaction, nociception, osmotaxis, thermosensation, mechanosensation, and pheromone perception (Bargmann and Mori, 1997; Driscoll and Kaplan, 1997; Riddle and Albert, 1997; Bargmann, 2006; Altun and Hall, 2010; Figure 3). In addition, each amphid sensory neuron expresses a specific set of candidate receptors, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and/or transmembrane guanylyl cyclase (GCY) that serve as the first interface between the external environment and the nervous system (Fielenbach and Antebi, 2008). Upon receiving environmental signals, two downstream neurosensory transduction systems are initiated, one uses cGMP (converted from GTP by GCY in response to G-protein signaling or extracellular ligands) as a second messenger to activate cGMP-gated ion channels; the other one uses TRPV channels. Moreover, sensory homeostasis and adaptation are largely regulated by kinases