Many animals, particularly insects and worms, progress through distinct larval stages before arising as an adult. In worms, such as the non-parasitic roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, the end of each larval stage is punctuated by a molt, whereby the animal synthesizes a new cuticle (or skin) and sheds its old one. This project will investigate the complex sequence of events that gives rise to molting. The PI has identified a gene, apl-1, that is essential for molting in C. elegans. When apl-1 does not function, the animal is unable to complete its molt and becomes trapped within its old cuticle, causing the death of the animal. By putting in a normal copy of the gene in the nervous system of the animal, they can rescue the molting defect. Based on these data, Dr. Li hypothesizes that APL-1 acts as a neural signal in the molting process. She proposes to examine how APL-1 exerts its effects by following its movement in the animal and identifying other genes that interact with apl-1. These results will provide a general framework from which we can understand not only how C. elegans molts, but also how other worms, such as parasitic worms that damage crops or infect humans, molt. The experiments will be performed by graduate, undergraduate, and high school students. Participating students will learn how to plan, perform, and interpret experiments, will present their data at local and/or national scientific meetings, and will hone their scientific writing skills. The undergraduates that will participate in the project are predominantly minority and/or economically disadvantaged non-residential students', the goal of the project is to create a vibrant research community within the laboratory for their learning.
