Genetic Variants That Modify the Neuroendocrine Regulation of Foraging Behavior in C. elegans.
bioRxiv
; 2023 Sep 19.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37745484
ABSTRACT
The molecular mechanisms underlying diversity in animal behavior are not well understood. A major experimental challenge is determining the contribution of genetic variants that affect neuronal gene expression to differences in behavioral traits. The neuroendocrine TGF-beta ligand, DAF-7, regulates diverse behavioral responses of Caenorhabditis elegans to bacterial food and pathogens. The dynamic neuron-specific expression of daf-7 is modulated by environmental and endogenous bacteria-derived cues. Here, we investigated natural variation in the expression of daf-7 from the ASJ pair of chemosensory neurons and identified common variants in gap-2, encoding a GTPase-Activating Protein homologous to mammalian SynGAP proteins, which modify daf-7 expression cell-non-autonomously and promote exploratory foraging behavior in a DAF-7-dependent manner. Our data connect natural variation in neuron-specific gene expression to differences in behavior and suggest that genetic variation in neuroendocrine signaling pathways mediating host-microbe interactions may give rise to diversity in animal behavior.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BioRxiv
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos