Research Starter Grant

Saint Lawrence University, Canton NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project will focus on studying the transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels in the nematode, C. elegans. These ion channels are biologically conserved from nematodes to humans and are ubiquitously expressed, however, very little is known about their physiological functions. This is mainly because most of the TRP channels studies have been conducted under conditions in which the channels are over-expressed outside their native environment. In order to understand the physiological function of TRP channels in C. elegans, studies will be carried out using native cells such as neurons and muscle cells. C. elegans is a good model system to study these channels because of its fully sequenced and well-annotated genome; relative ease and economy of manipulating gene expression; and the ready availability of numerous molecular reagents and mutant worm strains. The C. elegans genome encodes 18 TRP channels including three members of the TRPC family. Two of these, TRP-1 and TRP-2, are predominantly expressed in excitable tissues such as motor neurons, sensory neurons and muscles. The biological roles of these TRPC channels in excitable cells are unknown. To begin addressing this, transgenic worms will be generated to determine the specific types of cells where these channels are expressed and are active. Mutant strains containing deletions in the trp-1 and trp-2 genes will also be prepared and analyzed by a variety of behavioral responses. Broader Impacts: The results that will be obtained from these studies will provide the necessary data that would be used to prepare a full research proposal, which would jump-start the research program of Dr. Estevez. Moreover, undergraduate Biology and Neuroscience students will carry out most of the experiments as part of their senior year research projects. Students will learn worm husbandry, confocal imaging, and molecular genetic techniques. They will also acquire bioinformatics skills as they learn to navigate the many databases available to the C. elegans research community. Participation in the proposed research will also help foster critical thinking skills as the students will be actively involved in developing avenues of research to pursue and design their own experiments to test hypotheses of interest.