Chemotaxis by the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans: Identification of Attractants and Analysis of the Response by Use of Mutants
Open accessAbstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is attracted by at least four classes of attractants: by cyclic nucleotides, cAMP and cGMP; by anions, Cl - , Br - , I - ; by cations, Na + , Li + , K + , Mg + ; and by alkaline pH values. The nematode's behavioral response to gradients of these attractants involves orientation and movement up the gradient, accumulation, and then habitutation. Comparison of the tracks of wild-type and mutant animals responding to gradients of attractants indicates that sensory receptors in the head alone mediate the orientation response and that the direction of orientation is determined by the lateral motion of the head. Therefore, the orientation response is a klinotaxis.
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The gradient during a typical salt chemotaxis assay has a Gaussian shape.
“The gradient during a typical salt chemotaxis assay has a Gaussian shape [64].”
From Connecting a Connectome to Behavior: An Ensemble of Neuroanatomical Models of C. elegans Klinotaxis (2013) · cites this paper as [64]
Cites
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“chemotaxis [64] is one of the most studied spatial orientation behaviors in the nematode.”
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- Authors
- Ward, S.
- Affiliations
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Ward, Samuel
- ORCID
- Ward, Samuel
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 1973-03
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 817-821
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC433366
- OpenAlex
- W2065877884
- Cited by
- 572
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 23 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 22 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 5.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Aging › Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Sensory Systems › Ion Channels and Receptors
- Keywords
- chemotaxis, Caenorhabditis elegans, attractants, cyclic nucleotides, cyclic AMP, cyclic GMP, negative ions, cations, alkaline pH, klinotaxis, orienting response, habituation, sensory receptors, mutant analysis
- MeSH terms
- Acetates, Cyclic AMP, Adenosine Monophosphate, Ammonia, Ammonium Chloride, Bromides, Chemotaxis, Chlorides, Cysteine, Cyclic GMP, Histidine, Hydrogen-Ion Concentration, Iodides, Lithium, Lysine, Magnesium, Mutation, Nematoda, Potassium, Sodium
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