Integrating genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic and behavioural data from 12 strains of C. elegans to understand gene/environment interactions under different dietary regimens (360G-Wellcome-109080_Z_15_A)

C. elegans can grow on a range of different bacterial diets. It has already been shown that it changes its behaviour depending on the available food. Its lifespan also depends on its diet. Autophagy has been shown to mediate the increase in lifespan when the nematode is grown on certain foods. However, the mechanisms by which the environment leads to a change in beheviour and life history traits remain largely unknown. With this project, we would like to use high-throughput sequencing and metabolomics to build a quantitative and comprehensive map of the underlying molecular networks activated in a specific dietary environment. Furthermore, we would like to harness the genetic diversity of C. elegans to study the genetic basis of its phenotype as well as the interaction of its genome and environment in the determination of its behaviour and lifespan. For this purpose, we plan to extend the latest statistical techniques to integrate all layers of genomic and phenotypic data. Many of the genes involved in metabolism are conserved between humans and nematodes. Therefore, we expect that the findings will be relevant to human physiology.