Memory of recent oxygen experience switches pheromone valence in Caenorhabditis elegans

作者：Fenk Lorenz A; de Bono Mario

来源：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017, 114(16): 4195-4200.

DOI：10.1073/pnas.1618934114

<jats:p>Animals adjust their behavioral priorities according to momentary needs and prior experience. We show that <jats:italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</jats:italic> changes how it processes sensory information according to the oxygen environment it experienced recently. <jats:italic>C. elegans</jats:italic> acclimated to 7% O<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> are aroused by CO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> and repelled by pheromones that attract animals acclimated to 21% O<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>. This behavioral plasticity arises from prolonged activity differences in a circuit that continuously signals O<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> levels. A sustained change in the activity of O<jats:sub>2</jats: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<jats:sub>2</jats: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 <jats:italic>C. elegans</jats:italic> stores a memory of recent O<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> experience in the RMG circuit and illustrate how a circuit is flexibly sculpted to guide behavioral decisions in a context-dependent manner.</jats:p>

• 出版日期2017-4-18