Studies on Mitochondrial Dynamics in Touch Receptor Neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Mitochondria are required for a variety of physiological processes such as ATP production, calcium homeostasis, reactive oxygen species production, programed cell death and autophagy. Especially, neurons largely rely on mitochondrial functions to carry out synaptic transmission, axonal transport, and synaptic vesicle recycling. Although the molecular mechanism of mitochondrial fusion and fission is extensively investigated, the distribution of neuronal mitochondria in single cell is still remained unclear. In this study, I focused on mitochondrial dynamics in touch receptor neurons (TRNs) and touch related behavior at different developmental stages. I investigated the differences between ALM and PLM neurons, measured number, size, and density of mitochondria in TRNs, and examined gentle touch response and tap withdrawal response from larvae to adult. I found that larvae and adult stage worms exhibit different mitochondrial dynamics and touch behaviors. This research will provide the insight about how mitochondrial dynamics in specialized sensory neurons contribute to control animal behavior.