Date of Award
Fall 12-10-2012
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Walter William Walthall
Second Advisor
Casonya Matese Johnson
Third Advisor
Vincent Rehder
Abstract
The neuromuscular junction (nmj) is a commonly studied synapse, used often to investigate reciprocal signaling between a motor neuron and the appropriate target muscle. In Caenorhabditis elegans, ectopic nmjs can be created by eliminating selected embryonic muscle cells that act as guideposts for the migration of post-embryonic muscles. The ectopic muscles are required to induce sprouting from DD motor neurons, indicating the presence of a muscle derived signaling molecule that interacts with the neurons. A TGF-β homolog, unc-129, is reported to be transiently expressed in the dorsal body wall muscles. The timing of the expression of TGF-β coincides with the time that the DD motor neurons respecify their synapses. In this study, we show that TGF-β is expressed by the ectopic muscle and that in unc-129 mutant animals, the ectopic muscle is unable to induce sprouting from the DD motor neurons. Therefore, we conclude that TGF-β is necessary for ectopic nmj formation in C.elegans.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/3234629
Recommended Citation
Rahman, Abir A., "Is TGF-β Playing a Role In Ectopic Neuromuscular Junction Formation in the Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans?." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/3234629