Schafer William R
Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634, USA.
WormBook. 2005 Dec 14:1-7. doi: 10.1895/wormbook.1.38.1.
C. elegans hermaphrodites are self-fertile, and their rate and temporal pattern of egg-laying are modulated by diverse environmental cues. Egg-laying behavior has served as an important phenotypic assay for the genetic dissection of neuronal signal transduction mechanisms. This chapter reviews our current understanding of the neuronal and neurochemical mechanisms underlying the control of egg-laying in C. elegans. The roles of specific neurons in the egg-laying motor circuit, which release multiple neurotransmitters affecting distinct parameters of egg-laying muscle activity, and the possible mechanisms for sensory control of egg-laying behavior, are discussed.
秀丽隐杆线虫雌雄同体可自我受精,其产卵速率和时间模式受多种环境线索调节。产卵行为一直是用于对神经元信号转导机制进行遗传剖析的重要表型分析方法。本章回顾了我们目前对秀丽隐杆线虫产卵控制背后的神经元和神经化学机制的理解。讨论了特定神经元在产卵运动回路中的作用,这些神经元释放多种影响产卵肌肉活动不同参数的神经递质,以及产卵行为的感觉控制的可能机制。