Abstract
In C. elegans, thermosensation is a crucial sensory input that contributes to the animal’s overall fitness. As a result, a complex thermosensory system is developed, and is primarily mediated via the single pair of AFD sensory neurons. Here, I investigated the mechanism for AFD neuron to sense and mediate the thermal signals, as well as the adaptation mechanism in AFD neuron to adapt to the environmental temperature. By creating the transgenic worm lines with the fluorescent tagged protein of interests, I was able to visualize and identify the localization of these proteins. Moreover, taking advantage of the genome-wide differential gene expression data in AFD from our lab, I was able to screen and identify genes that are potentially involve in thermosensation and the adaptation process in AFD. Overall, my results confirm the previous studies that the ciliated neuron-receptive ending (NRE) of AFD is crucial for AFD to sense the thermal signal. Furthermore, different compartments of AFD NRE, namely the microvilli and the cilium, both are important regarding thermosensation. Finally, promoter screening indicates multiple genes, with one novel gene, C12D8.15, have temperature-dependent expression pattern, and are potentially involved in the temperature adaptation in AFD. Together, my results confirm the important role of AFD NRE in sensing thermal signals, and provide valid candidate genes to study for the adaptation process happened in AFD.