# Mapping of chemosensory neuron function to uncover changes in neuronal fates

> **NIH NIH SC1** · CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE · 2024 · $362,500

## Abstract

Project Summary
Parasitic nematodes infect more than 150 million people worldwide and up to 1.3 billion
people benefit from preventative treatment annually. Many parasitic nematodes require
insect hosts for transmission to human hosts in their complex life cycles. We use a
genetically tractable nematode Pristionchus pacificus that is associated with insects as a
comparative model to study how diverse behaviors arise from a limited set of neurons.
Our proposed research addresses a fundamental question on how nervous systems
evolve to accommodate new behaviors, specifically how and which transcription factors
are required to designate the developmental fates of chemosensory neurons in host-
seeking behavior. We will use reverse genetics to target candidate transcriptional
factors, known as terminal selector genes, as well as inducible transgenes to knock
down neuronal function at the single cell level. We will also use forward genetics to
investigate unbiasedly which genes are responsible to switch the preferences for taste
and smell when the nematodes develop into reproductive adults or host-seeking
infectious larvae. A detailed understanding of how neuronal remodeling affects
chemosensation could reveal the basic blueprint for sensory neurons found in diverse
nematodes, which could inform ways to disrupt the transmission of parasitic nematodes
between insect and human hosts.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10888149
- **Project number:** 5SC1GM140970-04
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY NORTHRIDGE
- **Principal Investigator:** Ray L Hong
- **Activity code:** SC1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $362,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-08-02 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10888149

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10888149, Mapping of chemosensory neuron function to uncover changes in neuronal fates (5SC1GM140970-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10888149. Licensed CC0.

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