Neuroendocrine Modulation Sustains theC. elegansForward Motor State

• DOI: 10.1101/065235
• Publication Date: 2016-07-24T05:08:10Z
• Authors: Maria A. Lim; Jyothsna Chitturi; Valeriya Laskova; Jun Meng; Daniel Findeis; Anne Wiekenberg; Ben Mulcahy; Linjiao Luo; Yan Li; Yangning Lu; Wesley Hung; Yixin Qu; Chi-Yip Ho; Douglas Holmyard; Ni Ji; Rebecca McWhirter; Aravinthan D. T. ...; David M. Miller; Ralf Schnabel; John A. Calarco; Mei Zhen
• Keywords: 570; motor state; QH301-705.5; Science; 610; peptidergic neurons; RNA profiling; 12. Responsible consumption; 03 medical and health sciences; Neural Pathways; neuroendocrine; Animals; Biology (General); Caenorhabditis elegans; Neurons; Neurotransmitter Agents; 0303 health sciences; Behavior, Animal; Q; Neuropeptides; R; Neurosecretory Systems; Medicine; Locomotion; Neuroscience

AbstractNeuromodulators shape neural circuit dynamics. Combining electron microscopy, genetics, transcriptome profiling, calcium imaging, and optogenetics, we discovered a peptidergic neuron that modulatesC. elegansmotor circuit dynamics. The Six/SO-family homeobox transcription factor UNC-39 governs lineage-specific neurogenesis to give rise to a neuron RID. RID bears the anatomic hallmarks of a specialized endocrine neuron: it harbors near-exclusive dense core vesicles that cluster periodically along the axon, and expresses multiple neuropeptides, including the FMRF-amide-related FLP-14. RID activity increases during forward movement. Ablating RID reduces the sustainability of forward movement, a phenotype partially recapitulated by removing FLP-14. Optogenetic depolarization of RID prolongs forward movement, an effect reduced in the absence of FLP-14. Together, these results establish the role of a neuroendocrine cell RID in sustaining a specific behavioral state inC. elegans.