Date of Award
Spring 2016
Thesis Type
Open Access
Degree Name
Honors Bachelor of Arts
Department
Biology
Sponsor
Dr. Jay Pieczynski
Committee Member
Dr. Susan Walsh
Committee Member
Dr. Bobby Fokidis
Abstract
The cilium is an organelle utilized by the cell for signaling purposes. Olfaction is a process that utilizes cilia for cell signaling, specifically as the starting point of the neuronal olfactory pathway, by which volatile odorant molecules trigger neuronal depolarization and subsequent behavioral modification. Related to cilia function and development is the process of intraflagellar transport (IFT): the bidirectional movement of channels, receptors, and other proteins by motors along the microtubules of the cilia, including odorant receptors. The phenomenon of odorant habituation upon continuous exposure to an attractant chemical has been previously confirmed, but the role of IFT in this process is not well understood. This study aims to elucidate a possible coupled relationship between cell signaling by cilia and the rate of transport of proteins through IFT by altering the variables of lifelong chemical exposure and chemical concentration in the soil-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. By conducting chemotaxis behavioral assays on both wildtype worms and worms lacking retrograde IFT, we have implicated retrograde IFT variability as the mechanism by which the cilia modulates behavior in response to different chemical environments.
Recommended Citation
O'Driscoll, Michaela A., "The role of cyclic nucleotide gated channels, retrograde IFT rate change, and chemical concentration in the olfactory habituation of C. elegans" (2016). Honors Program Theses. 31.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/honors/31