Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 371, Issue 1710, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0407
Keywords
Caenorhabditis elegans; stochasticity; neuronal asymmetry
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Funding
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship
- NIH [R01GM098026]
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Left-right asymmetry in the nervous system is observed across species. Defects in left-right cerebral asymmetry are linked to several neurological diseases, but the molecular mechanisms underlying brain asymmetry in vertebrates are still not very well understood. The Caenorhabditis elegans left and right amphid wing 'C' (AWC) olfactory neurons communicate through intercellular calcium signalling in a transient embryonic gap junction neural network to specify two asymmetric subtypes, AWCOFF (default) and AWCON (induced), in a stochastic manner. Here, we highlight the molecular mechanisms that establish and maintain stochastic AWC asymmetry. As the components of the AWC asymmetry pathway are highly conserved, insights from the model organism C. elegans may provide a window onto how brain asymmetry develops in humans. This article is part of the themed issue 'Provocative questions in left-right asymmetry'.
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