Identification of guanylyl cyclases that function in thermosensory neurons of Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans senses temperature primarily via the AFD thermosensory neurons in the head. The response to temperature can be observed as a behavior called thermotaxis on thermal gradients. It has been shown that a cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel (CNG channel) plays a critical role in thermosensation in AFD. To further identify the thermosensory mechanisms in AFD, we attempted to identify components that function upstream of the CNG channel by a reverse genetic approach. Genetic and behavioral analyses showed that three members of a subfamily of gcy genes (gcy-8, gcy-18, and gcy-23) encoding guanylyl cyclases were essential for thermotaxis in C. elegans. Promoters of each gene drove reporter gene expression exclusively in the AFD neurons and, moreover, tagged prote

SUBMITTER: Inada H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1456394 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature