Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Department of Molecular Biology, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, CREST-JST, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
Genes Brain Behav. 2010 Feb;9(1):120-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1601-183X.2009.00549.x. Epub 2009 Oct 28.
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits a complex behavior called thermotaxis in response to temperature. This behavior is defined as a form of associative learning, in which temperature pairs with the presence or absence of food. Different interpretations have been drawn from the diverse results obtained by several groups, mainly because of the application of different methodologies for the analysis of thermotaxis. To clarify the discrepancies in behavioral observations and subsequent interpretations by different laboratories, we attempted to systematize several parameters to observe thermotaxis behavior as originally defined by Hedgecock and Russell in 1975. In this study, we show clearly how C. elegans can show a conditioned migration toward colder or warmer areas on a thermal gradient, given certain criteria necessary for the observation of thermotaxis. We thus propose to distinguish thermotaxis from other temperature-related behaviors, such as the warm avoidance response displayed at temperature gradients of 1 degrees C/cm and steeper.
秀丽隐杆线虫在受到温度刺激时会表现出一种复杂的行为，称为趋温性。这种行为被定义为一种联想学习形式，其中温度与食物的存在或缺失相关联。由于几个研究小组采用了不同的方法来分析趋温性，因此得出了不同的结果。为了澄清不同实验室在行为观察和后续解释上的差异，我们试图将几个参数系统化，以便按照 Hedgecock 和 Russell 于 1975 年最初定义的方式来观察趋温性行为。在这项研究中，我们清楚地展示了秀丽隐杆线虫如何在热梯度上表现出有条件的向冷或暖区域的迁移，这是观察趋温性所必需的某些条件。因此，我们建议将趋温性与其他与温度相关的行为区分开来，例如在 1°C/cm 及更陡的温度梯度上表现出的温暖回避反应。
