Project
A C.elegans Model of the Effects of Ethanol on Development
Principal Investigator(s): Catharine H. Rankin, Department of Psychology and Brain Research Centre, UBC, phone: 604-822-5449, email: crankin@psych.ubc.ca
Start/End Date: May 2005-to-date
Location: Brain Research Centre, UBC, Vancouver, BC
Brief Description: The basic protocol that will be followed in this study will be to expose C. elegans to varying concentrations of ethanol at different stages of development and then study physiological development and behaviour. The concentrations of ethanol required to produce comparable tissue levels of ethanol in C. elegans as in humans has been determined (Davies 2003). Pilot data generated in our lab has shown that ethanol exposure during development decreases C. elegans mean body length, longevity and rate of development in a dose dependant manner. The objective of the proposed work is to generate data that will demonstrate the feasibility of using C. elegans as an invertebrate model in the expanding field of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) research.
Once we have determined the affects of ethanol on specific traits we can then begin exploring the ways that ethanol produces its effects. Here, C. elegans offers a unique opportunity to greatly expand our understanding of cellular mechanisms. C. elegans has a mapped genome and a nervous system of consisting 302 neurons and ~ 5000 chemical synapses; every neuron has been identified, its cell lineage traced and it connectivity patterns mapped (Brenner et al 1986). These databases of knowledge about C. elegans coupled with modern molecular investigative techniques makes this simple system an ideal model for uncovering the cellular and molecular pathways through which ethanol affects developing nervous systems.
Time Frame: ongoing
Kind of Project: research
Population Served:
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