Douglas K. Reilly

The paper develops a method to functionally analyze individual neuropeptides in C. elegans by expressing active peptides in E. coli and feeding them to loss-of-function mutants.

The paper identifies sex-specific receptor expression in C. elegans olfactory neurons and shows their non-redundant role in ascr#8 sensing.

The paper identifies a male-specific neuropeptide-receptor module that drives a sex-specific behavioral response to the pheromone ascr#8 in C. elegans.

The paper introduces a method to functionally rescue neuropeptide genes in C. elegans by feeding them bacteria expressing active peptides, revealing both redundant and unique functions of different neuropeptides.

The paper shows that a neurotransmitter receptor in C. elegans is co-opted for inter-organismal communication via pheromone sensing.