wt cat-2::gfp & tph-1::gfp strains?

Model Organism: Worms Methods & Reagents
1

Hello Forum,

I have just joined the Forum and also the C. elegans community late in my research career…so please bear that in mind when I seem to have missed something obvious.

I have tried to use the forum search engine to it seems still not to work (at least for me).

I am trying to find references to strains that contain cat-2::gfp or tph-1::gfp in a wildtype background. I have found cat-2::gfp but with a roller phenotype or both tph-1 and cat-2 but with a disrupted pattern of expression due to mutations in other genes (I think sor and sox?)

I want to use these gfp expressing strains to investigate the interaction between dopaminergic and serotonergic neurones during the modulation of C. elegans locomotion in response to food and also in in vitro experiments using isolated neurones. For the former, a normal pattern of locomotion is of course important.

Any general suggestions or references to strains that may be found in the CGC would be very welcome. I look forward to working within the C. elegans community.

Regards

Steve

2

Hi Steve,

The search engine bar is broken, indeed.

If you look up a gene through Wormbase and scroll to the very bottom there is a ‘Reagents’ section. You can click on the different transgenes to see their associated publications.

For example, I looked up cat-2 and tph-1 and got:

http://wormbase.org/db/gene/transgene?name=nIs118;class=Transgene
http://wormbase.org/db/gene/transgene?name=mgIs42;class=Transgene

Perhaps these are what you’re looking for?

I admit I did not read the associated publications but you can sift through them.

I hope this helps,

C

3

Hi C,

thanks for the links. The tph-1::gfp strain is GR1366 which is listed as having a roller phenotype. Or perhaps I am reading this incorrectly? The other does not list a strain (Horwitz lab) but I will search around more to see if there is one listed somewhere.

Thanks

Steve

4

Go to the WormBase page for each gene and look for the section labeled “Reagents”. You will see a list of transgenes containing part of the gene; click on them to learn of their contents.
Better yet, do this in the Wormbase Beta (example) and the transgenes are presented in tabular form.
There is even an integrated transgene containing cat-2::yfp and tph-1::gfp, though I don’t recognize the co-injection marker and would have to look at the papers to figure it out.

5

The strain EM800 is bxIs16 [cat-2::YFP, tph-1::CFP] him-5(e1490) all on LG V, and does not have Roller. It is first described in Lints et al., 2004, Axial patterning of C. elegans male sensilla identities by selector genes, Developmental Biology 269:137– 151. This is good if you want both in one strain, and want males. If it’s not at the CGC, ask the Emmons or Lints lab.

Best,
Curtis Loer

6

Thank you.

Steve