A study of environmental contributions to the growth and function of the gentle touch receptor neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Eukaryotic organisms use sensory systems to receive information about the world in which they live. They convert environmental stimuli into signals, usually electrical, which can then be processed and translated into pro survival behavior. A key capability for many of these organisms is the ability to sense direct mechanical stimulation, or mechanosensation. Mechanosensory systems consist of the core transduction machinery and the surrounding cellular environment that houses and supports that machinery. In this work, I discuss three studies in which I examined the contribution of the cellular environment to the development and function of the gentle touch mechanosensory system in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In the first study, we show that alterations of the lipid environment in the touch receptor neurons impairs their function. In the second, we demonstrate that the roles of various tubulin isotypes in the touch receptor neurons is context dependent. Finally, in the third study I explore the contribution of the mechanical environment surrounding the TRNs to their length. Taken together, these three studies demonstrate that mechanosensation relies on the interplay between the core transduction machinery and the environmental context in which it acts.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Lockhead, Dean | |
|---|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. | |
| Primary advisor | Goodman, Miriam Beth | |
| Thesis advisor | Goodman, Miriam Beth | |
| Thesis advisor | Clandinin, Thomas R. (Thomas Robert), 1970- | |
| Thesis advisor | Dunn, Alexander Robert | |
| Thesis advisor | Ricci, Anthony | |
| Advisor | Clandinin, Thomas R. (Thomas Robert), 1970- | |
| Advisor | Dunn, Alexander Robert | |
| Advisor | Ricci, Anthony |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Dean Lockhead. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Dean Lockhead
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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