DOI: 10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnkpf
title: Data from: Effect of altered production and storage of dopamine on development and behavior in C. elegans

description: Introduction: 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. Methods:
 We studied C. elegans that lack the ability to sequester dopamine (OK411)
 and that overproduce dopamine (UA57) and a novel strain (MBIA) generated
 by the genetic crossing of OK411 and UA57, which both lack the ability to
 sequester dopamine into vesicles and, additionally, endogenously
 overproduce dopamine. The MBIA strain was generated to address the
 hypothesis that an endogenous increase in the production of dopamine can
 rescue deficits caused by a lack of vesicular dopamine sequestration.
 These strains were analyzed for body size, developmental stage,
 reproduction, egg laying, motor behaviors, and neuronal health utilizing
 multiple methods. Results: Our results further implicate proper dopamine
 synthesis and sequestration in the regulation of C. elegans body size,
 development through larval stages into gravid adulthood, and motor
 functioning. Furthermore, our analyses demonstrate that body size in terms
 of length is distinct from the developmental stage as fully developed
 gravid adult C. elegans with disruptions in the dopamine system have
 decreased body lengths. Thus, body size should not be used as a proxy for
 the developmental stage when designing experiments. Discussion: Our
 results provide additional evidence that the dopamine system impacts the
 development, growth, and reproduction in C. elegans. Furthermore, our data
 suggest that endogenously increasing the production of dopamine mitigates
 deficits in C. elegans lacking the ability to package dopamine into
 synaptic vesicles. The novel strain, MBIA, and novel analyses of
 development and reproduction presented here can be utilized in
 developmental neurotoxicity experiments.
description: # Effect of altered production and storage of dopamine on development and
 behavior in C. elegans
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnkpf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnkpf) This dataset contains the raw data corresponding to the manuscript "Effect of altered production and storage of dopamine on development and behavior in C. elegans." The data presented here was in effort to understand and characterize the role of dopamine neurotransmission in *C. elegans* development utilizing genetic models. A novel strain was generated that lacks the protein cat-1, which is responsible for vesicular sequestration of dopamine, and over-expresses the gene cat-2, which is responsible for dopamine synthesis. Thus, this novel strain (MBIA) has compounded effects on the amount of cytosolic dopamine. We characterized this strain, the parent strains used to generate MBIA, and wild-type *C. elegans* to determine what role dopamine synthesis and sequestration has on body size, development through larval stages into gravid adulthood, reproduction, neuron health, and dopamine-mediated behaviors.  ## Description of the data and file structure This dataset contains 5 compressed folders: 1. Behavior assay files, 2. CSV files, 3. Cleaned COPAS CSV files, 4.  Brightfield and GFP images for body size and neuron area, and 5. MPP.  Raw image and data files are included for each analysis. When appropriate, .csv files are provided. Folder 1 contains subfolders for each developmental stage of analysis: L4 (larval stage 4), Day 1 (Day one adult), Day 2 (Day two adult), and Day 3 (Day three adult.) Within each subfolder labeled by developmental stage, there are four additional subfolders containing the dates on which the videos were recorded across four experimental replicates. Within each dated subfolder there are subfolders divided by strain: N2 (wild-type), UA57 (Cat-2 overexpression), Cat-1 (cat-1 null), and IA (MBIA, cat-2 overexpression and cat-1 null). Each strain subfolder contains multiple videos recorded in the format of sequenced .jpg files.  Folder 2 contains the .csv files corresponding to the statistics performed for the analysis.  Folder 3 contains the .csv files collected from the COPAS large particle biosorter arranged in subfolders corresponding to each cohort (labeled 1-6) on which the analysis was performed. Within each individual cohort subfolder there are individual .csv files corresponding to developmental stage (either L4 or Day 1 adult) and media formulation in which the c. elegans were grown (agar or liquid). Missing data code: NA Folder 4 contains the raw image files compiled for microscopy analysis. There are brightfield images on which body length analysis was performed and GFP images on which neuron area analysis was performed. Folder 5 contains all of the relevant files from the MPP+ exposure experiments found in the supplement of the manuscript organized in subfolders corresponding to the each cohort (labeled 1-5) on which the analysis was performed. Each individual cohort folder contains microscopy images corresponding to the developmental stage (L4 or day 1 adult) and doses of MPP+ treated (C025 = DMSO equivalent to 0.25uM dose, C075 = DMSO equivalent to 0.75uM dose, 25 = 0.25uM, 50 = 0.50um, 75 = 0.75um, NT = non-treated). Within Folder 5 is also the .csv file of the compiled eggs in utero data across the five cohorts of MPP+ experiments.