title: Mutants of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that are defective specifically in their attraction to cycloheximide.
abstract: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits chemotaxis toward a wide variety of chemicals including water-soluble molecules and volatile organic compounds. We have previously discovered that C. elegans wild-type strain N2 is strongly attracted by cycloheximide which has long been known as a bitter tastant for humans and other mammals. We describe here the isolation and initial characterization of the first mutants which were defective specifically in their attraction to cycloheximide. In our screenings, we selected two mutants that were defective in chemotaxis to cycloheximide but normal in their attraction to NH4Cl and histidine. These mutants also avoided quinine hydrochloride, CuSO4 and high concentrations of NaCl similar to the wild-type strain N2. Furthermore, no observable defect was detected in their attraction to volatile odorants such as isoamyl alcohol and diacetyl. Dye-filling experiments suggested that they have no morphological defect in the sensory endings of the amphid neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biotechnolog, Graduate School ofAdvanced Sciences of Matter, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8530, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tajima
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takiguchi
authors.forename: Junichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Tsukasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.forename: Hisao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohtake