Glutamate receptors may not protect against oxidative stress in C. elegans

• Main Authors: Alicia N. Minniti, Eryn Fennelly, Brenna Duffy, Natausha Davis, Elizabeth Chatburn, Nibaldo C. Inestrosa, Rebecca E. Kohn
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Appalachian State University Honors College 2012-01-01
• Series: Impulse: The Premier Undergraduate Neuroscience Journal
• Online Access: http://impulse.appstate.edu/sites/impulse.appstate.edu/files/Chatburn_final.pdf

Oxidative stress is considered a significant contributor to cellular damage, which may accumulate and result in cellular and organism senescence and death. Oxidative stress and damage have been correlated with a number of central nervous system (CNS) disorders in mammals, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, the current study investigates the survival of mutant C. elegans strains under oxidative stress. Using strains containing mutations in the glr-1 and nmr-1 genes encoding subunits of ionotropic glutamate receptors, we found no significant differences of survival among wild type (WT) and glutamate receptor mutants, though prior research has suggested the involvement of glutamatergic neurons in antioxidant defenses.