Genes help worms decide where to dine
In the famous song by The Clash, "Should I Stay or Should I Go," the lyrics wrestle with one of the more complicated decisions people make -- whether to end a difficult love affair or try to make it work. We arent likely to understand exactly how specific genes affect such momentous choices anytime soon. But when a microscopic worm ponders whether to stay on a patch of bacteria it is eating or leave for greener pastures, the biology of primitive decision-making is much more accessible. A recent study by Rockefeller University researchers identified natural variations in several genes that influence this behavior, including one, tyramine receptor 3 (tyra-3), that produces a receptor for an invertebrates version of adrenaline, a hormone involved in the fight or flight response in mammals.