Phototaxis in head of the nematode C. elegans

"Phototaxis behavior is commonly observed in animals with light-sensing organs. C. elegans, however, is generally believed to lack phototaxis, as this animal lives in darkness (soil) and does not possess eyes. Here, we found that light stimuli elicited negative phototaxis in C. elegans and that this behavior is important for survival.
Tail avoidance response. At 1.72 s, a flash of light (2 s duration, UV-A) was turned on. At 2.85 s, the worm responded by stopping backward movement and beginning to move forward."

from

Alex Ward, Jie Liu, Zhaoyang Feng & X Z Shawn Xu, "Light-sensitive neurons and channels mediate phototaxis in C. elegans", Nature Neuroscience.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• nematode
• phototaxis
• light
• sensitivity