The evolutionary ecology of cognition and memory in Caenorhabditis worms
We have two MSc projects (45-60 credits each) to investigate the evolution and ecology of cognition and transgenerational epigenetic memory in Caenorhabditis worms. With as few as c.a. 300 neurons, worms demonstrate a wide range of learning capabilities; they can associate olfactory cues with stress, learn to avoid pathogens, and can transmit their learned memory to their offspring (how convenient!). However, the regulation of their cognitive capacity remains unclear, and the ecology that facilitates the evolution of epigenetic memory inheritance is unknown.
Project 1: Being good at learning may seem universally beneficial. But is it? First, you can make mistakes. Second, there may be physiological costs associated with learning, forming memories, and keeping your nervous system in peak condition. Our recent results indicate that learning is regulated by the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, but the capacity for RNAi-regulated learning may come with a potential fitness cost. This MSc project aims to investigate the costs of the active process of learning and memory inheritance using several RNAi mutants of Caenorhabditis elegans.
Project 2: C. elegans worms learn to avoid pathogenic food (Pseudomonas bacteria) and can transmit the learned avoidance through epigenetic mechanisms (in this case, non-coding RNAs) to naïve progeny that have never encountered the pathogen. Such epigenetic memory inheritance has important implications in evolution, but its ecological relevance remains unclear – can other Caenorhabditis species that occupy different ecological niches inherit pathogenic memories? And how does worms’ microbial environment affect their response to pathogenic learning? This MSc project is part of a larger study, where we aim to investigate learning and epigenetic memory inheritance across Caenorhabditis species, as well as explore the interactions between the worms’ microbial environment and epigenetic memory inheritance.
Starting date: flexible
Required qualifications: Strong interests in evolutionary biology. No specific experience required.
Who are we?
We are three groups of researchers based in Lund University (Hwei-yen Chen), Uppsala University (Martyna Zwoinska), and Halmstad University (Martin Lind). Our shared interests include plasticity, cognition, life-history, and aging. Drop us a line if you’re interested in our projects, or if you would like to develop your own project with us!
Hwei-yen Chen, hwei-yen.chen@biol.lu.se
Martin Lind, martin.lind@hh.se
Martyna Zwoinska, martyna.zwoinska@ebc.uu.se