Modulation of Locomotion and Reproduction by FLP Neuropeptides in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
Modulation of Locomotion and Reproduction by FLP Neuropeptides in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0135164
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发表时间：
2015
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Li C
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Chang YJ;Burton T;Ha L;Huang Z;Olajubelo A;Li C
神经肽在动物体内发挥调节大多数（如果不是全部）复杂行为的作用。在无脊椎动物中，神经肽可以充当神经元的主要神经递质，但更常见的是，它们与小分子神经递质共定位，正如在脊椎动物中常见的那样。由于单个神经元可以表达多种神经肽，并且神经肽可以与多个 G 蛋白偶联受体结合，因此神经肽的作用增加了神经连接组激活或抑制的复杂性。据估计，人类拥有 90 多个神经肽基因；相比之下，线虫是一种相对简单的生物体，其神经肽基因的补充略多。例如，线虫秀丽隐杆线虫有超过 100 个神经肽编码基因，其中至少 31 个基因编码 FMRFamide 家族的肽。为了了解这个大 FMRFamide 肽家族的功能，我们分离了不同 FMRFamide 编码基因的敲除，并产生了这些肽过度表达的转基因动物。我们对这些动物的两种基本行为进行了分析：运动和繁殖。不同神经肽的调节水平对这些行为具有强烈和微妙的影响。这些数据表明神经肽在秀丽隐杆线虫中发挥着关键作用，可以微调控制运动和繁殖的神经回路。
Neuropeptides function in animals to modulate most, if not all, complex behaviors. In invertebrates, neuropeptides can function as the primary neurotransmitter of a neuron, but more generally they co-localize with a small molecule neurotransmitter, as is commonly seen in vertebrates. Because a single neuron can express multiple neuropeptides and because neuropeptides can bind to multiple G protein-coupled receptors, neuropeptide actions increase the complexity by which the neural connectome can be activated or inhibited. Humans are estimated to have 90 plus neuropeptide genes; by contrast, nematodes, a relatively simple organism, have a slightly larger complement of neuropeptide genes. For instance, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has over 100 neuropeptide-encoding genes, of which at least 31 genes encode peptides of the FMRFamide family. To understand the function of this large FMRFamide peptide family, we isolated knockouts of different FMRFamide-encoding genes and generated transgenic animals in which the peptides are overexpressed. We assayed these animals on two basic behaviors: locomotion and reproduction. Modulating levels of different neuropeptides have strong as well as subtle effects on these behaviors. These data suggest that neuropeptides play critical roles in C. elegans to fine tune neural circuits controlling locomotion and reproduction.