[
International Worm Meeting,
2007]
Nervous system deficits in fetal alcohol spectrum disorder had been investigated extensively in multiple animal models such as rodents, pig, sheep, fish, and insects (Cudd, 2005). However, fundamental molecular and genetic alteration and interaction with alcohol that result in cognitive and behavioral abnormalities are difficult to dissect in higher order animals due to the complexity of their nervous systems and behavior. Here we attempt to develop a model in which both chronic and acute embryonic exposure of ethanol can be effectively investigated at behavioral, system and molecular levels. With a fully mapped genome, a readily accessible mutant library, 302 fully mapped neurons, and simple behavior, C. elegans is a great model to use in the search for ethanol''s effect on molecular level which results in nervous system deficiencies. We investigated the effect of chronic or acute ethanol exposure on survival rate, reproductive onset, worm length/size, fecundity and lifespan during various developmental stages in C. elegans. Chronic exposure of ethanol (0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4mM) over the course of the lifetime, over larval development, and during adult only was explored. In all three cases, we found that high doses of alcohol significantly decreased length, reproductive onset, decreased total number of eggs laid and shortened lifespan. The effect of acute ethanol exposure during embryonic development was investigated by exposing eggs to ethanol (0.2%v/v) for 1 hour at various times (1-9h after eggs were laid). We report significant effect of 1hr exposure on age of reproductive onset. Pilot data suggests that acute exposure results smaller and more variable response to mechanosensory tap and more rapid habituation at a 10sec inter-stimulus interval. Our current result suggests that both chronic and acute exposure to ethanol during development have long-lasting effects on C. elegans. The development of this model will allow us to examine the effects of embryonic exposure to ethanol on the dynamic relationship of gene expression, neural circuitry development, and behavior. Cudd TA (2005) Animal model systems for the study of alcohol teratology. Exp Biol Med (Maywood) 230:389-393.