Antony O. W. Stretton

Structure and Function of Neuropeptides in Nematodes

Research Strengths: Membrane Excitability and Synaptic Transmission, Neural Circuitst

Our overall aim is to understand, at the cellular level, how the nervous system controls behavior. The nematode Ascaris has only 298 neurons, so we can carry out anatomical work very thoroughly by light and electron microscopy. We also record the electrical properties of neurons and synapses. Taken together, the structural and physiological information leads to a model of how the system works, but this model is incomplete since it does not fully explain the behavior. We are therefore examining the chemical context in which the nervous system operates, and have found that there are many neuropeptides, present in different subsets of neurons. To investigate their roles, it is first necessary to isolate them and determine their amino-acid sequences so that large quantities can be synthesized for physiological experiments. In this way we have characterized many peptides that have potent activity on subsets of neurons in the motor nervous system.

Selected Publications:

Angstadt, J.D., J.E. Donmoyer, and A.O.W. Stretton. 2001. The number of morphological synapses between neurons does not predict the strength of their physiological synaptic interactions: A study of dendrites in the nematode Ascaris suum.J. Comp. Neurol. 432: 512-527. [PDF]
Davis, R.E. and A.O.W. Stretton. 2001. Structure-activity relationships of 18 endogenous neuropeptides on the motornervous system of the nematode Ascaris suum. Peptides 22: 7-23. [PDF]
Reinitz, C.A., H.G. Herfel, L.M. Messinger, and A.O.W. Stretton. 2000. Changes in locomotory behavior and cAMP produced in Ascaris suum by neuropeptides from Ascaris suum or Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 111: 185-197.


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Antony O. W. Stretton Structure and Function of Neuropeptides in Nematodes E-mail: aostrett@wisc.edu Research Strengths: Membrane Excitability and Synaptic Transmission, Neural Circuitst Our overall aim is to understand, at the cellular level, how the nervous system controls behavior. The nematode Ascaris has only 298 neurons, so we can carry out anatomical work very thoroughly by light and electron microscopy. We also record the electrical properties of neurons and synapses. Taken together, the structural and physiological information leads to a model of how the system works, but this model is incomplete since it does not fully explain the behavior. We are therefore examining the chemical context in which the nervous system operates, and have found that there are many neuropeptides, present in different subsets of neurons. To investigate their roles, it is first necessary to isolate them and determine their amino-acid sequences so that large quantities can be synthesized for physiological experiments. In this way we have characterized many peptides that have potent activity on subsets of neurons in the motor nervous system. Selected Publications: Angstadt, J.D., J.E. Donmoyer, and A.O.W. Stretton. 2001. The number of morphological synapses between neurons does not predict the strength of their physiological synaptic interactions: A study of dendrites in the nematode Ascaris suum.J. Comp. Neurol. 432: 512-527. [PDF] Davis, R.E. and A.O.W. Stretton. 2001. Structure-activity relationships of 18 endogenous neuropeptides on the motornervous system of the nematode Ascaris suum. Peptides 22: 7-23. [PDF] Reinitz, C.A., H.G. Herfel, L.M. Messinger, and A.O.W. Stretton. 2000. Changes in locomotory behavior and cAMP produced in Ascaris suum by neuropeptides from Ascaris suum or Caenorhabditis elegans. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 111: 185-197.

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