| Asymmetry is a feature of the body plans of most organisms. While asymmetric organs as well as a nervous system are generally important for diversities of function, asymmetry of the nervous system is not well understood. An important and yet unanswered question is: How is asymmetric neuronal function imposed upon a symmetric structure? This work describes the results of a large-scale genetic screen to reveal factors required for the asymmetric fate of the bilateral gustatory neurons ASEL/R. In this screen, we uncovered a total of 123 alleles, including 10 novel genes found to act in the ASE system. In this thesis, I describe the cloning and characterization of two of these novel genes, lsy-15 and lsy-22, as well as describe an interesting allele of a gene previously known to act in ASE. The genetic screen and the mutants described here shed light on new genes specifying asymmetric neuronal fate and are instrumental in furthering our understanding of the mechanisms underlying neuronal development. |
