Developmental Specification of a Polymodal Nociceptor in C. Elegans

All animals rely on their ability to sense and respond to the environment to survive. The perception of pain or noxious stimuli serves an important protective function and causes animals to withdraw from or avoid potentially damaging stimuli. There are still large gaps in our understanding of how the nerve cells that detect noxious stimuli (nociceptors) develop. This project will use the small roundworm, C. elegans, to discover the genes that contribute to nociceptor development. The findings will benefit researchers working in organisms ranging from invertebrates to humans. In particular, understanding the developmental specification of nociceptive nerve cells may provide new ways to manage aversion and pain across species. Graduate students and undergraduates, including women and minority students, will participate in these studies. The University at Buffalo (UB) is a very diverse campus, providing a great opportunity to mentor minority students. Funds from this grant will support a summer stipend for an undergraduate from a Liberal Arts College that does not offer opportunities for undergraduate research. Providing early exposure to hypothesis-driven research is essential for preparing students for careers in the biological sciences. Students will present their findings at local regional and international meetings. Findings from this work will be included in the lectures for UB's undergraduate Developmental Biology course and will form the basis for a special topics research course for graduate students. The primary nociceptors in C. elegans are the two ASH head sensory neurons. These neurons detect multiple forms of aversive stimuli. This project aims to reveal the neuronal identity code of the ASHs in their native environment in live animals. The proposed experiments will first define the role of the C. elegans paired-like homeodomain transcription factor UNC-42 in the developmental specification of the ASH nociceptive neurons. RNAi screening will then identify the complete cohort of transcription factors required to establish ASH identity. Transgenic animals resulting from this award will be deposited at the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center, which will distribute them to any investigator that requests them. New gene and phenotype descriptions will also be incorporated into "Wormbase" http://www.wormbase.org/ ,an online open access resource.