Map Making in C. elegans: Charting the Nervous System

Map Making in C. elegans: Charting the Nervous System Hobert, Oliver The developmental history and anatomy of the nematode C.elegans has been exceptionally well mapped. The next frontier lies in taking maps to the next level, that of molecular maps which define the identity and function of unique cell types. Defining molecular maps is in particularly high demand in the context of the nervous system. For example, the C.elegans connectome, which still remains the only connectome of any nervous system, begs the question how neurons communicate with one another. I will describe our efforts to build a comprehensive neurotransmitter map of the C.elegans nervous system and I will then use this neurotransmitter map to describe our efforts to provide “regulatory maps” which explain how neurotransmitter identity is genetically programmed and how this critical identity feature of a neuron is linked to other identity features of a neuron. The underlying vision that guides our research is to understand on a true system-wide level how a nervous system is built. Presented on December 12, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. in the Engineered Biosystems Building (EBB), room 1005.; Oliver Hobert is a Professor in the Columbia University Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and holds an Interdisciplinary Faculty position in the Department of Systems Biology. His laboratory studies the molecular mechanisms responsible for generating the remarkable diversity of cell types found in the nervous system. Using C. elegans as a model system, they have revealed the regulatory mechanisms that control terminal neuronal identity and demonstrated that these mechanisms are conserved in chordates. His lab has also developed a number of tools to analyze whole genome sequence data.; Runtime: 65:05 minutes

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