Publications by authors named "Elizabeth C Quamme"
Natural allelic variation modifies acute ethanol response phenotypes in wild strains of C. elegans.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken)
August 2023
Article Synopsis
- Genetic variation plays a crucial role in developing alcohol use disorders (AUDs), but traditional lab studies often overlook the naturally occurring genetic diversity found in wild populations.
- Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers tested various wild strains and multiparental recombinant inbred lines to evaluate their ethanol response behaviors, finding distinct responses across different strains.
- The study revealed that genetic differences lead to diverse and independent acute ethanol response behaviors, with an average heritability of 23.2%, indicating that these variations could influence multiple biological mechanisms underlying AUD risk.
Ethanol-induced transcriptional changes underlie important physiological responses to ethanol that are likely to contribute to the addictive properties of the drug. We examined the transcriptional responses of Caenorhabditis elegans across a timecourse of ethanol exposure, between 30 min and 8 h, to determine what genes and genetic pathways are regulated in response to ethanol in this model. We found that short exposures to ethanol (up to 2 h) induced expression of metabolic enzymes involved in metabolizing ethanol and retinol, while longer exposure (8 h) had much more profound effects on the transcriptome.
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