This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living nematode worm that has served as a model system for defining biological processes for over forty years. Detailed studies of the organism are facilitated by the fact that C. elegans has an optically transparent body. Its genome is fully sequenced, and the somatic cell numbers and their developmental fates are invariable i.e. the origins of all 959 cells in a mature hermaphrodite or 1031 cells in a male are completely defined. More than 70% of all human genes are conserved in C. elegans, and methods are in place for identifying genes by forward and reverse genetic screens, thus making this an ideal test-bed for exploring questions of cell biology in multicellular organisms. Surprisingly, the C. elegans model system has been relatively unexplored for questions related to nutrient uptake and metal homeostasis, despite the fact that worms have a defined and highly versatile intestine for nutrient absorption. The ability to grow worms in a controlled environment makes this organism ideal for nutritional studies. We are using C. elegans as a genetic animal model to define the temporospatial distribution of metals with the goal of defining in precise molecular terms the mechanism for metal ion uptake, trafficking, and storage using a combination of x-ray fluorescence microprobe imaging together with classical nutritional studies and strategic use of mutations of genes responsible for metal homeostasis.
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