Basics in Cell Biology and Neurobiology .......................................................................... 251
Lecture 1, Intracellular Compartments and Transport (EssenSal Cell Biology Ch15) ........ 251
Lecture 2, Intracellular Signaling (EssenSal Cell Biology Ch16/ Purves Ch7) ..................... 264
Lecture 3, Protein Structure and FuncSon (EssenSal Cell Biology Ch4) ............................. 279
Lecture 4, Cytoskeleton (EssenSal Cell Biology Ch17) ....................................................... 293
Lecture 5, Neurotransmi\ers and their Receptors (Purves Ch6) ....................................... 303
, Lecture 6, DNA and Chromosomes (EssenSal Cell Biology Ch5) ........................................ 315
Lecture 7, From DNA to Protein: How Cells Read the Genome (EssenSal Cell Biology Ch7)
.......................................................................................................................................... 323
Lecture 8, Synapses (Purves Ch5) ...................................................................................... 335
Lecture 9, Molecular Memory / SynapSc PlasScity (Purves Ch8) ...................................... 349
Methods and Models in Neuroscience ............................................................................ 358
Lecture 1, C. elegans ......................................................................................................... 359
Lecture 2, Yeast ................................................................................................................. 371
Lecture 3, Drosophila ........................................................................................................ 381
Lecture 4, Mouse ............................................................................................................... 388
,Methods and Models in Neuroscience
Invertebrate Model organisms
–Saccharomices cerevisiae (Baker’s yeast) Verhage
–CaenorhabdiAs elegans (the roundworm) Smit
–D. melanogaster (the fruit fly) Verhage
à specific behaviours
à simply build nervous system
àspecific features (E.g., drosophila: flying, big eyes; snail: large neurons)
Vertebrate organisms
- O]en studied for specific purposes
o Tote: adapAng skin colour
o Finch: singing and maAng research
o Zebrafish: transparent
o Rats: intricate behaviours (social)
o Mice: easy to do transgenic (genes and funcAon)
Genomes compared
à more dense packing of
genes in the genome.
The intervals in human genes
are much larger> more
possibility to regulate gene
expression.
, Lecture 1, C. elegans
Overview
• Introducing C. elegans
• Life cycle and anatomy
• The worm genome
• Transgenesis and RNA interference
• Examples of geneAc screens (including paper)
• Worms in space
What is C. elegans?
C. elegans is a nematode - a member of the phylum Nematoda:
• It is small, growing to about 1.5 mm in length, and lives in the soil
• in many parts of the world, where it survives by
• feeding on microbes such as bacteria.
• It is of no economic importance
• 1.5 mm length
• 959 cells, of which
• 302 neurons
à These numbers are not special, but it is special that we know these
numbers. In c.elegans all neurons are known and it is a fixed number.
First published descripAon of C.elegans (1900)
- Mouth> geneAc screens
- A lot of space in the worm is occupied by its reproducAon system (seen by the eggs)
What makes C. elegans a unique model organism?
• Small, easy to maintain (eats E. coli) (handy for maintaining the animal in the laboratory)
• Short generaAon Ame and self-ferAlizing
• Cell lineage is constant and completely mapped
• Transparent body: suitable for high-throughput screening methods
• Simple nervous system
• Sequenced genome & extensive molecular toolbox
• Genome database: hTp://www.wormbase.org
• Many research results are translatable to human processes
- Due to the fact that the nervous system of c. elegans also has synapses etc.
• Ethical
- There are no laws protecAng these animals
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