Cell Biology
Birgitta Olofsson 
Visiting scientist, Senior Investigator scientist MRC-Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Email: bmo21@cam.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 (0)1223 336602/ 402280
How does the perceived nutritive value of food modify subsequent food-seeking behaviour? We use the simple soil nematode C. elegans to address this question. The nematode C.elegans is uniquely suited for behavioural studies at the molecular and cellular level. Its nervous system consists of only 302 neurons whose locations and connectivity patterns are known. C. elegans integrates past experience to choose food that best supports its growth and to avoid harmful or low quality food. We would like to know how an animal evaluates food and how this information is used to modify its feeding behaviour appropriately.
In particular we are keen to find out:
- The role of the intestine
- The neuronal circuits involved
We tackle these questions by combining multiple approaches. Forward genetic screens and RNAi allow us to identify genes involved. Transgenic studies using GFP allow us to identify the cells where these genes function. Subsequent molecular work allows us to dissect the mechanism of gene function. All these approaches are coupled to detailed analyses of the behaviour of the animal.
This work is ongoing in the lab and generally very little is known in the field. For a prospective student, I would recommend reading:
Shtonda, B.B. and Avery, L. (2006) Dietary choice behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans. J Exp Biol 209:89-102
Selected publications
- Milward K, Busch KE, Murphy RJ, de Bono M, Olofsson B. (2011) Neuronal and molecular substrates for optimal foraging in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 108(51):20672-7
- Olofsson, B. and de Bono, M. (2008). Dozy worms and sleepy flies. Curr. Biol. 18(5): R204-R206
- Page, D. and Olofsson, B. (2008). Multiple roles for apoptosis facilitating condensation of the Drosophila ventral nerve cord. Genesis. 46(2): 61-68
- Olofsson, B. and Page, D. (2005). Condensation of the central nervous system in embryonic Drosophila is inhibited by blocking hemocyte migration or neural activity. Dev. Biol. 279:233-243
- Ober, E.A.*, Olofsson, B.*, Makinen, T., Jin, S.W., Shoji, W., Koh, G.Y., Alitalo, K., and Stainier, D.Y. (2004). Vegfc is required for vascular development and endoderm morphogenesis in zebrafish. EMBO Rep. 5(1):78-84.
* with equal contribution - Olofsson, B. , Jeltsch, M., Eriksson, U., and Alitalo, K. (1999) Current Biology of VEGF-B and VEGF-C. Curr. Opin. Biotechnol. 10:528-536.
- Lymboussaki, A.*, Olofsson, B.*, Eriksson, U., and Alitalo, K. (1999) Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and VEGF-C show overlapping binding sites in embryonic endothelia and distinct sites in differentiated adult endothelia. Circ. Res. 85:992-9.
* with equal contribution - Makinen, M.*, Olofsson, B.*, Karpanen, T., Hellman,U., Soker, S., Klagsbrun, M., Eriksson, U., and Alitalo, K.(1999). Differential binding of Vascular endothelial growth factor B splice and proteolytic isoforms to neuropilin-1. J. Biol. Chem. 274:21217-21222.
* with equal contribution - Olofsson, B.* , Korpelainen, E.*, Pepper, M. S., Mandiota, S. J., Aase, K., Kumar,V., Gunji,Y., Jeltsch M. M., Shibuya, M., Alitalo, K. and Eriksson, U. (1998). Vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B) binds to VEGF receptor-1 and regulates plasminogen activator activity in endothelial cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA .95:11709-11714.
*with equal contribution - Olofsson, B. , Pajusola, K., von Euler, G., Chilov, D., Alitalo, K. and Eriksson, U. (1996). Genomic organization of the mouse. and human genes for vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF-B) and characterization of a second splice isoform. J Biol. Chem. 271:19310-19317.
- Olofsson, B.* , Pajusola, K.*, Kaipainen, A., von Euler,G., Joukov,V., Saksela, O., Orpana, A., Pettersson, R.F., Alitalo, K., and Eriksson, U. (1996). Vascular endothelial growth factor B, a novel growth factor for endothelial cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93:2576-2581. *with equal contribution
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