Effect of isoamyl alcohol on aggregation of wild-type and mutant <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>

Abstract

Caenorhabditis elegans respond to chemical stimuli through olfaction involving transfer of chemical signals via synapses to produce an elicited response which results in moving towards, away, or producing a neutral response to the chemical stimuli (Bargmann 2006). Using isoamyl alcohol as an attractant, both mutant C. elegans and wild type were exposed for a set amount of time and aggregation was observed after 30 minutes. Isoamyl alcohol was found to affect the aggregation of C. elegans when compared to control conditions (p=0.0005), the aggregation of the mutant phenotype was different than wild type (p=0.0051), and both the wild type and mutant responded differently to the attractant (p=0.0051). It is suggested that unc-2 regulating odorant receptor gene str-2 explains the mutant’s minimal response to attractant.