Null Mutant mig-15(udn323) Shows Touch Receptor Neuron Migration Defects in C. elegans

The <i>C. elegansmig-15</i> gene is an essential driver of Q-neuroblast polarization and migration. <i>mig-15</i> mutations alter the migration of Q-neuroblast descendants. However, the effects of complete loss-of-function of <i>mig-15</i> on <i>C. elegans</i> Touch Receptor Neuron (TRN) migration are not well-characterized. Therefore, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to delete the entire <i>mig-15</i> gene and assessed the migration of AVM, ALML, ALMR, and PVM TRNs using fluorescence microscopy. In the <i>mig-15 (udn323)</i> null mutant, AVM and PVM neurons often fail to migrate to their correct positions. These findings show that complete loss of <i>mig-15</i> significantly alters the migration of <i>C. elegans</i> TRNs.