C. Elegans PKD-targeted Services

Overview

As it is extremely difficult to study cilia biology and the connections among cilia formation, sensory function and disease in mammalian model organisms, alternative experimental systems such as C. elegans are necessary. C. elegans — with its evolutionarily conserved PKD genes, polycystin ciliary localization and polycystin sensory function — is a powerful model for characterizing the physiological roles of PKD genes in their native cellular environment.

Services

The Model Systems Core offers five C. elegans PKD-targeted services:

• Analysis of response of PKD-related phenotypes (mating behavior, dye filling) to treatment (small molecule screening)
• Access to worm mutants involved in the polycystin signaling pathway
• Analysis of genetic, molecular and cellular interactions of evolutionarily conserved candidate genes with polycystins and other components involved in polycystin signaling
• Screens for deletion mutants of worm homologs of interesting mammalian genes
• Training on C. elegans-related technologies (cilia structure and function, worm genetics, and whole-genome mutagenesis and high-throughput RNAi screenings)

Submit an email inquiry to the core about C. elegans services