Université de Fribourg

Identification of avoidance genes through neural pathway-specific forward optogenetics

Marques, Filipe ; Saro, Gabriella ; Lia, Andrei-Stefan ; Poole, Richard J. ; Falquet, Laurent ; Glauser, Dominique A.

In: PLOS Genetics, 2019, vol. 15, no. 12, p. e1008509

Understanding how the nervous system bridges sensation and behavior requires the elucidation of complex neural and molecular networks. Forward genetic approaches, such as screens conducted in C. elegans, have successfully identified genes required to process natural sensory stimuli. However, functional redundancy within the underlying neural circuits, which are often organized with multiple...

Université de Fribourg

Specific ion channels control sensory gain, sensitivity, and kinetics in a tonic thermonociceptor

Saro, Gabriella ; Lia, Andrei-Stefan ; Thapliyal, Saurabh ; Marques, Filipe ; Busch, Karl Emanuel ; Glauser, Dominique A.

In: Cell Reports, 2020, vol. 30, no. 2, p. 397-408.e4

Pain sensation and aversive behaviors entail the activation of nociceptor neurons, whose function is largely conserved across animals. The functional heterogeneity of nociceptors and ethical concerns are challenges for their study in mammalian models. Here, we investigate the function of a single type of genetically identified C. elegans thermonociceptor named FLP. Using calcium imaging in...