Nictation, a dispersal behavior of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, is regulated by IL2 neurons
Nictation, a dispersal behavior of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, is regulated by IL2 neurons
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DOI：
10.1038/nn.2975
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发表时间：
2012-01-01
影响因子：
25
通讯作者：
Lee, Junho
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Lee, Harksun;Choi, Myung-kyu;Lee, Junho
许多线虫表现出一种特定阶段的行为，称为“摇尾”，在这种行为中，蠕虫用尾巴站立，并在三维空间中摆动头部。本研究表明，在秀丽隐杆线虫中，nictation是一种由一组特定的神经元IL2细胞调节的扩散行为。我们建立了尼古丁的测定方法，并表明尼古丁需要胆碱能传递。细胞类型特异性修复实验和基因消融实验表明，il - 2纤毛头神经元对烟梗至关重要。IL2神经元中完整的纤毛是必不可少的，而其他纤毛头神经元中没有，因为在纤毛缺陷突变体中，仅恢复IL2神经元中相应的野生型基因活性就足以恢复休眠。光遗传学激活IL2神经元诱导烟幕，表明来自IL2神经元的信号足以诱导烟幕。最后，我们证明了秀丽隐杆线虫在使用苍蝇作为人工载体的情况下传播到一个新的生态位是需要诱捕的，这表明诱捕是在恶劣条件下传播和生存的一种策略。
Many nematodes show a stage-specific behavior called nictation in which a worm stands on its tail and waves its head in three dimensions. Here we show that nictation is a dispersal behavior regulated by a specific set of neurons, the IL2 cells, in C. elegans. We established assays for nictation and showed that cholinergic transmission was required for nictation. Cell type-specific rescue experiments and genetic ablation experiments revealed that the IL2 ciliated head neurons were essential for nictation. Intact cilia in IL2 neurons, but not in other ciliated head neurons, were essential, as the restoration of the corresponding wild-type gene activity in IL2 neurons alone in cilia-defective mutants was sufficient to restore nictation. Optogenetic activation of IL2 neurons induced nictation, suggesting that signals from IL2 neurons are sufficient for nictation. Finally, we demonstrated that nictation is required for transmission of C. elegans to a new niche using flies as artificial carriers, suggesting a role of nictation as a dispersal and survival strategy under harsh conditions.