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Dr. Garciahttp://www.bio.tamu.edu/FACMENU/FACULTY/GarciaR.htm My lab is interested in understanding how motivated behaviors of multi-cellular animals are regulated at the molecular level. We address this question by studying the mechanisms that control male mating behavior in the nematode C. elegans. To identify molecules that regulate mating, we have isolated mutations that cause males to execute the spicule protraction step in the absence of hermaphroditic mating cues. One of these mutations maps to unc-103, the C. elegans ortholog of the human h-erg-encoded voltage-gated delayed rectifying K+ channel, and another mutation maps to unc-43, the the C. elegans ortholog of calcium/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). In WT animals, these molecules affect how food signals regulate the cell excitability of neurons and muscles involved in mating behavior. Caloric restriction can suppress the abnormal behavioral phenotypes caused by UNC-103/ERG K+ channel mutations, and this suppression partially requires the calcium-regulated CaMKII enzyme. Nutrient deprivation induces metabolic changes that support conservative utilization of internal stores of fat and carbohydrates. Mitochondria plays a critical role in maintaining intracellular Ca homeostasis. In collaboration with the Lindahl lab, we are investigating how potential structural and chemical changes in mitochondria induced by food restriction might affect Ca homeostasis and membrane excitability of neural-muscular circuits. |
