9421505 Alfonso Communication between cells of the nervous system (called neurons) is done via chemicals called neurotransmitters. This chemical communication (synaptic transmission) involves packaging of the neurotransmitter into vesicles that are released when the neuron is activated. The goal of this project is to understand the molecular and genetic bases of release of these vesicles. Synaptic transmission is being studied in the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, where the investigator has identified new proteins involved in the neurotransmitter vesicular release through the isolation of mutations in the genes that encode these proteins. Animals with mutations in these gene have defects in synaptic transmission mediated by the chemical neurotransmitters acetylcholine and gamma-aminobutyric acid. These studies will give important insights into the regulation of vesicular release from neurons and also vesicle-mediated exocytosis in other cell types.
