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Tomioka M, Umemura Y, Ueoka Y, Chin R, Katae K, Uchiyama C, Ike Y, Iino Y. Antagonistic regulation of salt and sugar chemotaxis plasticity by a single chemosensory neuron in Caenorhabditis elegans. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010637. [PMID: 37669262 PMCID: PMC10503759 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans memorizes various external chemicals, such as ions and odorants, during feeding. Here we find that C. elegans is attracted to the monosaccharides glucose and fructose after exposure to these monosaccharides in the presence of food; however, it avoids them without conditioning. The attraction to glucose requires a gustatory neuron called ASEL. ASEL activity increases when glucose concentration decreases. Optogenetic ASEL stimulation promotes forward movements; however, after glucose conditioning, it promotes turning, suggesting that after glucose conditioning, the behavioral output of ASEL activation switches toward glucose. We previously reported that chemotaxis toward sodium ion (Na+), which is sensed by ASEL, increases after Na+ conditioning in the presence of food. Interestingly, glucose conditioning decreases Na+ chemotaxis, and conversely, Na+ conditioning decreases glucose chemotaxis, suggesting the reciprocal inhibition of learned chemotaxis to distinct chemicals. The activation of PKC-1, an nPKC ε/η ortholog, in ASEL promotes glucose chemotaxis and decreases Na+ chemotaxis after glucose conditioning. Furthermore, genetic screening identified ENSA-1, an ortholog of the protein phosphatase inhibitor ARPP-16/19, which functions in parallel with PKC-1 in glucose-induced chemotactic learning toward distinct chemicals. These findings suggest that kinase-phosphatase signaling regulates the balance between learned behaviors based on glucose conditioning in ASEL, which might contribute to migration toward chemical compositions where the animals were previously fed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masahiro Tomioka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yusuke Umemura
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yutaro Ueoka
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Risshun Chin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Keita Katae
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chihiro Uchiyama
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasuaki Ike
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuichi Iino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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Wakabayashi T, Nojiri Y, Takahashi-Watanabe M. Multiple Chemosensory Neurons Mediate Avoidance Behavior to Rare Earth Ions in Caenorhabditis elegans. Biol Trace Elem Res 2021; 199:2764-2769. [PMID: 32914378 DOI: 10.1007/s12011-020-02375-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
As rare earth (RE) metals are abundantly present in the soil, in spite of their name, it is conceivable that organisms may encounter and interact with RE ions. In the present study, we demonstrated that the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans avoids RE ions, such as yttrium and all examined lanthanide ions, which exhibit toxic effects on nematodes. We also demonstrated that the chemosensory system of this animal mediates avoidance behavior toward RE ions similar to heavy metal (HM) ion avoidance. The C. elegans dyf-11(pe554) mutant is unable to respond to chemosensory cues because it lacks all ciliated endings of the chemosensory neurons required for the detection of environmental chemicals. Cell-specific rescue of the dyf-11 mutant and cell-specific genetic ablation studies revealed that the avoidance behavior toward HM and RE ions was mediated by a partially overlapping but distinct subset of chemosensory neurons (ASH, ADL, ASE, ADF, and ASK). With the help of multiple chemosensory neurons, worms may improve the fidelity of avoidance behavior to evade RE ions. Among the chemosensory neurons in C. elegans, ADF and ASK neurons were involved in RE avoidance, but not in HM avoidance. These results suggested that ADF and ASK neurons in C. elegans have RE-selective mechanisms to mediate the avoidance response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tokumitsu Wakabayashi
- Department of Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, 020-8551, Japan.
| | - Yui Nojiri
- Department of Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, 020-8551, Japan
| | - Miwa Takahashi-Watanabe
- Department of Chemistry and Biosciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5 Ueda, Morioka, 020-8551, Japan
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Context-dependent operation of neural circuits underlies a navigation behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:6178-6188. [PMID: 32123108 PMCID: PMC7084152 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1918528117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans memorizes an environmental temperature and migrates toward the remembered temperature on a thermal gradient by switching movement up or down the gradient. How does the C. elegans brain, consisting of 302 neurons, achieve this memory-dependent thermotaxis behavior? Here, we addressed this question through large-scale single-cell ablation, high-resolution behavioral analysis, and computational modeling. We found that depending on whether the environmental temperature is below or above the remembered temperature, distinct sets of neurons are responsible to generate opposing motor biases, thereby switching the movement up or down the thermal gradient. Our study indicates that such a context-dependent operation in neural circuits is essential for flexible execution of animal behavior. The nervous system evaluates environmental cues and adjusts motor output to ensure navigation toward a preferred environment. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans navigates in the thermal environment and migrates toward its cultivation temperature by moving up or down thermal gradients depending not only on absolute temperature but on relative difference between current and previously experienced cultivation temperature. Although previous studies showed that such thermal context-dependent opposing migration is mediated by bias in frequency and direction of reorientation behavior, the complete neural pathways—from sensory to motor neurons—and their circuit logics underlying the opposing behavioral bias remain elusive. By conducting comprehensive cell ablation, high-resolution behavioral analyses, and computational modeling, we identified multiple neural pathways regulating behavioral components important for thermotaxis, and demonstrate that distinct sets of neurons are required for opposing bias of even single behavioral components. Furthermore, our imaging analyses show that the context-dependent operation is evident in sensory neurons, very early in the neural pathway, and manifested by bidirectional responses of a first-layer interneuron AIB under different thermal contexts. Our results suggest that the contextual differences are encoded among sensory neurons and a first-layer interneuron, processed among different downstream neurons, and lead to the flexible execution of context-dependent behavior.
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Levy S, Bargmann CI. An Adaptive-Threshold Mechanism for Odor Sensation and Animal Navigation. Neuron 2019; 105:534-548.e13. [PMID: 31761709 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.10.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 05/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/27/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Identifying the environmental information and computations that drive sensory detection is key for understanding animal behavior. Using experimental and theoretical analysis of AWCON, a well-described olfactory neuron in C. elegans, here we derive a general and broadly useful model that matches stimulus history to odor sensation and behavioral responses. We show that AWCON sensory activity is regulated by an absolute signal threshold that continuously adapts to odor history, allowing animals to compare present and past odor concentrations. The model predicts sensory activity and probabilistic behavior during animal navigation in different odor gradients and across a broad stimulus regime. Genetic studies demonstrate that the cGMP-dependent protein kinase EGL-4 determines the timescale of threshold adaptation, defining a molecular basis for a critical model feature. The adaptive threshold model efficiently filters stimulus noise, allowing reliable sensation in fluctuating environments, and represents a feedforward sensory mechanism with implications for other sensory systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sagi Levy
- Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA.
| | - Cornelia I Bargmann
- Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA
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daf-16/FOXO isoform b in AIY neurons is involved in low preference for Bifidobacterium infantis in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neurosci Res 2019; 150:8-16. [PMID: 30731110 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2019.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2018] [Revised: 01/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The neural and molecular mechanisms underlying food preference have been poorly understood. We previously showed that Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infantis), a well-known probiotic bacterium, extends the lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) compared with a standard food, Escherichia coli (E. coli) OP50. In this study, we characterized C. elegans behavior against B. infantis and examined the neural and molecular mechanisms governing that behavior. The majority of the wild-type animals were outside of the B. infantis lawn 10 min after transfer. Although worms did not prefer B. infantis compared to E. coli OP50, they preferred the B. infantis lawn over a lawn containing M9 buffer alone, in which there was no food. Mutant analyses suggested that leaving the B. infantis lawn required daf-16/FOXO. Isoform-specific mutant phenotypes suggested that daf-16 isoform b seemed to be associated with leaving. Genetic rescue experiments demonstrated that the function of daf-16b in AIY interneurons was involved in leaving the B. infantis lawn. The daf-18/PTEN mutants were also defective in leaving. In conclusion, C. elegans showed a low preference for B. infantis, and daf-16b in AIY interneurons and daf-18 had roles in leaving B. infantis.
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Worms on a Chip. Bioanalysis 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-981-13-6229-3_6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
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Yoshimizu T, Shidara H, Ashida K, Hotta K, Oka K. Effect of interactions among individuals on the chemotaxis behaviours of Caenorhabditis elegans. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.182790. [PMID: 29691312 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.182790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In many species, individual social animals interact with others in their group and change their collective behaviours. For the solitary nematode Caenorhabditis elegans strain N2, previous research suggests that individuals can change the behaviour of other worms via pheromones and mechanosensory interactions. In particular, pheromones affect foraging behaviour, so that the chemotactic behaviours of individuals in a group (population) can be modulated by interactions with other individuals in the population. To investigate this, we directly compared the chemotactic behaviours of isolated (single) worms with those of individual animals within a population. We found that worms approached an odour source in a distinct manner depending on whether they were alone or in a population. Analysis of behaviours of the N2 worm and a pheromone production-defective mutant revealed that the 'pirouette' strategy was modulated by interaction of the worms via pheromones. Thus, pheromones play an important role in the characteristic collective behaviours seen in the population condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Yoshimizu
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Hisashi Shidara
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Keita Ashida
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Kohji Hotta
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Kotaro Oka
- Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan .,Graduate Institute of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City 807, Taiwan
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