Rick Markus: Yes, worms can get drunk too!

Research on alcoholism is complex and often focusses on specific traits that are related to alcoholism. One of those traits is how quickly somebody feels the (intoxicating) effects of alcohol. People that are relatively resistant against the intoxicating effects of ethanol have a higher risk for developing alcoholism. In my thesis, I counted the amount of offspring that genetically diverse C. elegans lines produced under several alcohol concentrations to estimate how prone these lines are to the effects of alcohol. I found that the C. elegans lines differed in their response to alcohol. Moreover, the lines of which the amount of offspring was relatively unaffected upon alcohol consumption likely contain mutations that cause a high risk for developing alcoholism. Future experiments should be focussed on identifying these specific mutations and determining their location on the genome. This can be achieved by performing so called QTL mapping experiments.

Overall, I learned a lot during my time at the Laboratory of Nematology. While the experimental techniques I performed were quite basic, I read a lot of literature about the widely used advanced genetic tool called QTL mapping. I also delved into the world of R, and learned a lot about analyzing and visualizing data in R. I enjoyed the freedom I was given during my thesis to focus on the subjects that I was interested in most. I also had the opportunity to set up and execute some of my own experiments. The people at Nematology are friendly and always willing to help. They also organize fun activities for you to participate in like a Sinterklaas visit and a Christmas lunch. To conclude, I liked my time at the Laboratory of Nematology and got the opportunity to develop myself in multiple areas during my thesis.