Cells release various products to the outside through a process called exocytosis. In the nervous system, exocytosis mediates the release of chemicals including neurotransmitters, and a number of highly conserved proteins have been shown to control this process. In this project, a hypothesis will be tested that one protein originally discovered in yeast, VSM-1, may regulate exocytosis in the nervous system of multicellular animals. To test this hypothesis, the impact of mutating the gene coding for VSM-1 will be examined by studying the resulting changes at the level of molecules, cells, and whole organisms in C. elegans. At the cellular level, it will be determined if communication between neurons is impaired in mutants lacking the gene. Finally, whole mutant animals will be examined using pharmacological tests and fluorescent microscopy. Preliminary unpublished data showed that C. elegans strains containing the mutation in the VSM-1 gene are hyperactive and have more nerve endings than wild type animals. Insights into the mechanism of VSM-1 from this proposal will advance understanding of the nervous system of higher animals, including humans, because there are no reports yet on the function of VSM-1 in multicellular animals. The proposed research will also significantly enhance and promote students' training in the field of neuroscience since it will primarily be conducted by undergraduate students enrolled at Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU), a teaching institution in rural western Oklahoma with a growing commitment to research.
