Nictation
Animals can respond and adapt to environmental fluctuation through behaviors. Each species exhibits its own behavior profile contingent on its innate genetic program. Given harsh conditions, Caenorhabditis elegans develops to a dauer larva, which shows a stage-specific dispersal behavior called nictation. When a dauer confronts a filamentous matter or rough surface, it stands and waves its body on the protruding ending. Nictation can facilitate dauers’ attaching to other animals such as isopods, which can in turn transfer them to a new habitat. We developed quantitative assay for nictation behavior and working on these issues.
- Neuronal regulation of nictation behavior by IL2 neurons
- Neural circuit of nictation behavior and its neuromodulation
- Behavior plasticity of nictation behavior induced by environmental cues and its developmental mechanism by signaling pathway
- Natural variation of nictation behavior and its underlying genetic polymorphisms
Ethanol
C. elegans has been shown to have many conserved genes in ethanol response. We have created several mutant lines that demonstrate enhanced ethanol resistance. Among them, jud-1 have altered metabolic phenotype identified using lipidomics approaches. We are investigating the relevance of these molecular mechanism and atherosclerosis.