Project Description
The nematode worm C. elegans does not normally chemotax toward environmental pollutants like naphthalene, toluene, phenol, and DDT. However, certain G-protein coupled receptors found in H. sapiens, M. musculus, and R. norvegicus are agonized by these compounds. Our main goal is to import these foreign GPCRs into the worm in the hopes of observing novel chemotaxis behaviour. Secondarily, we will design a field bioassay based on our C. elegans chemotaxis system. We envision two populations of worms expressing different types of fluorescent protein. One population will be repulsed by toxic compounds, and one will chemotax toward those compounds. The presence of toxicity in a soil sample would be indicated by a ring of one type of fluorescence forming around the sample.
Finally, we will experiment with the natural relationship between C. elegans and the bacterium E. faecium. This bacterium is known to colonize the intestine of C. elegans without causing mortality. E. faecium can also degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (such as naphthalene). We predict that coupling E. faecium to our transgenic worm will increase the tolerance of the worm to oil contaminants and provide it with a way to biodegrade those contaminants.
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