Project Overview
C. elegans displays an aversive response to alternating current. sma-1–a pleiotropic gene that impacts the excretory canal, cuticle, and size (short/dumpy)– was identified as the causative gene for a defective zap response through a forward genetic screen. Thus, worms with each of the characters are studied independently to determine the one responsible for the less responsive behavior.
Current Questions
- Do long, thin worms have a higher resistance and are thus more responsive & vice-versa?
- Do small-size mutants, similar to sma-1, have a decreased response to electricity?
- Do cuticle mutants, similar to sma-1, also have a decreased response to electricity?
Setup
The setup consists of the following on a nine centimeter plate of NGM agar:
- Eight 1 μl lawns of OP50 E. coli
- 6 young adult C. elegans
The “zap” itself is 60 seconds of alternating current of 30 V, 4 Hz, 0.080 A.
Each recording consists of 30 seconds before voltage, 60 seconds of voltage, and 30 seconds after voltage.
The Zap Team!
Charlotte Roth & Gabrielle H. Martin
