Effect of altered production and storage of dopamine on development and behavior in C. elegans.

The nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), is an advantageous model for studying developmental toxicology due to its well-defined developmental stages and homology to humans. It has been established that across species, dopaminergic neurons are highly vulnerable to neurotoxicant exposure, resulting in developmental neuronal dysfunction and age-induced degeneration. C. elegans, with genetic perturbations in dopamine system proteins, can provide insight into the mechanisms of dopaminergic neurotoxicants. In this study, we present a comprehensive analysis on the effect of gene mutations in dopamine-related proteins on body size, development, and behavior in C. elegans.