Article
- The EMBO Journal (2002) 21, 986 - 994
- doi:10.1093/emboj/21.5.986
Subject Categories:
The G-protein 
subunit gpc-1 of the nematode C.elegans is involved in taste adaptation
Gert Jansen1, David Weinkove2,3 and Ronald H.A. Plasterk2
- MGC Department of Cell Biology and Genetics and Centre for Biomedical Genetics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Hubrecht Laboratory and Centre for Biomedical Genetics, Uppsalalaan 8, 3584 CT Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Present address: Department of Cellular Biochemistry, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Correspondence to:
Gert Jansen, E-mail: jansen@ch1.fgg.eur.nl
Received 8 October 2001; Accepted 10 January 2002; Revised 14 December 2001
Abstract
Caenorhabditis elegans has two heterotrimeric G-protein 
subunits, gpc-1 and gpc-2. Although GPC-1 is specifically expressed in sensory neurons, it is not essential for the detection of odorants or salts. To test whether GPC-1 is involved in sensory plasticity, we developed a water soluble compound adaptation assay. The behaviour of wild-type animals in this assay confirms that prolonged exposure to salts can abolish chemo-attraction to these compounds. This process is time and concentration dependent, partly salt specific and reversible. In contrast, gpc-1 mutant animals show clear deficits in their ability to adapt to NaAc, NaCl and NH4Cl, but normal wild-type adaptation to odorants. Two other loci previously implicated in odorant adaptation, adp-1 and osm-9, are also involved in adaptation to salts. Our finding that G proteins, OSM-9 and ADP-1 are involved in taste adaptation offer the first molecular insight into this process.
Keywords:
- adaptation,
- Caenorhabditis elegans,
- G proteins,
- taste
