Genetic screens for synaptic function mutants in the nematode C. elegans

The synapse is the site of a remarkable conversion of electrical signals into chemical signals. This conversion takes place when a depolarizing impulse enters the axon terminal and opens voltage-sensitive calcium channels; calcium then flows into the cell and initiates the fusion of synaptic vesicles with the plasma membrane. The precise mechanisms of synaptic vesicle dynamics remains a mystery. We would like to understand the specialized molecular machinery that is required to dock and prepare vesicles for release, fuse the vesicular and plasma membranes, and finally to recycle vesicular components to regenerate mature synaptic vesicles.