title: Analyzing defects in the Caenorhabditis elegans nervous system using organismal and cell biological approaches.
abstract: The goal of this laboratory exercise is to increase student understanding of the impact of nervous system function at both the organismal and cellular levels. This inquiry-based exercise is designed for an undergraduate course examining principles of cell biology. After observing the movement of Caenorhabditis elegans with defects in their nervous system, students examine the structure of the nervous system to categorize the type of defect. They distinguish between defects in synaptic vesicle transport and defects in synaptic vesicle fusion with membranes. The synaptic vesicles are tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP), simplifying cellular analysis. The expected outcome of this experiment is that students will better understand the concepts of vesicle transport, neurotransmitter release, GFP, and the relation between the nervous system and behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426, USA. rkohn@ursinus.edu
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guziewicz
authors.forename: Toni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vitullo
authors.forename: Bethany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: Rebecca Eustance
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Kohn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001695:Biology / Q000193:education*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D004517:Education, Professional; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007753:Laboratories; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D008561:Membrane Fusion; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D009068:Movement; D009420:Nervous System / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D013572:Synaptic Vesicles / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins