Memory of recent oxygen experience switches pheromone valence in <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i>.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28373553.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1073/pnas.1618934114 and PMC identifier 5402444.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Animals adjust their behavioral priorities according to momentary needs and prior experience. We show that <i>Caenorhabditis elegans</i> changes how it processes sensory information according to the oxygen environment it experienced recently. <i>C. elegans</i> acclimated to 7% O<sub>2</sub> are aroused by CO<sub>2</sub> and repelled by pheromones that attract animals acclimated to 21% O<sub>2</sub> This behavioral plasticity arises from prolonged activity differences in a circuit that continuously signals O<sub>2</sub> levels. A sustained change in the activity of O<sub>2</sub>-sensing neurons reprograms the properties of their postsynaptic partners, the RMG hub interneurons. RMG is gap-junctionally coupled to the ASK and ADL pheromone sensors that respectively drive pheromone attraction and repulsion. Prior O<sub>2</sub> experience has opposite effects on the pheromone responsiveness of these neurons. These circuit changes provide a physiological correlate of altered pheromone valence. Our results suggest <i>C. elegans</i> stores a memory of recent O<sub>2</sub> experience in the RMG circuit and illustrate how a circuit is flexibly sculpted to guide behavioral decisions in a context-dependent manner.
Medical subject headings
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Caenorhabditis elegans
- Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
- Memory
- Neurons
- Oxygen
- Pheromones