Glutamate is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the mammalian brain and its synaptic levels are tightly regulated by glutamate transporters, located primarily on glia. In the nematode, C. Elegans, the major excitatory neurotransmitter is acetylcholine, but glutamate neurotransmission remains critical for a number of functions. Glutamate synapses in C. Elegans are not surrounded by glia and of the six glutamate transporters expressed, only one is found in neurons.  So, what is the role of glutamate transport in C. Elegans? Research in the Bauer lab centers around studying mutant worms in which the genes for one or more transporters have been knocked-out. We are interested in how glutamate transporters regulate behavior – particularly learning and memory – and how the transporters are involved in metabolism and lifespan. We hope that these studies will teach us something about how the process of neurotransmission has evolved.