scholarly journals Context-dependent inversion of the response in a single sensory neuron type reverses olfactory preference behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munzareen Khan ◽  
Anna H. Hartmann ◽  
Michael P. O'Donnell ◽  
Madeline Piccione ◽  
Pin-Hao Chao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Neuron ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Intracellular Signaling ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Neuron Type ◽  
Olfactory Neurons ◽  
Medium Chain ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Intracellular Signaling Pathways ◽  
Context Dependent

The valence and salience of individual odorants are modulated by an animals innate preferences, learned associations, and internal state, as well as by the context of odorant presentation. The mechanisms underlying context-dependent flexibility in odor valence are not fully understood. Here we show that the behavioral response of C. elegans to bacterially-produced medium-chain alcohols switches from attraction to avoidance when presented in the background of a subset of additional attractive chemicals. This context-dependent reversal of odorant preference is driven by cell-autonomous inversion of the response to alcohols in the single AWC olfactory neuron pair. We find that while medium-chain alcohols inhibit the AWC olfactory neurons to drive attraction, these alcohols instead activate AWC to promote avoidance when presented in the background of a second AWC-sensed odorant. We show that these opposing responses are driven via engagement of different odorant-directed signal transduction pathways within AWC. Our results indicate that context-dependent recruitment of alternative intracellular signaling pathways within a single sensory neuron type conveys opposite hedonic valences, thereby providing a robust mechanism for odorant encoding and discrimination at the periphery.

scholarly journals The lin-11 LIM homeobox gene specifies olfactory and chemosensory neuron fates in C. elegans

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (17) ◽  
pp. 3269-3281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trina R. Sarafi-Reinach ◽  
Tali Melkman ◽  
Oliver Hobert ◽  
Piali Sengupta
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Neuron ◽  
Receptor Gene ◽  
Homeobox Gene ◽  
Nuclear Hormone Receptor ◽  
Olfactory Neuron ◽  
Olfactory Neurons ◽  
Temporal Regulation ◽  
Chemosensory Neurons ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Chemosensory Neuron

Chemosensory neuron diversity in C. elegans arises from the action of transcription factors that specify different aspects of sensory neuron fate. In the AWB and AWA olfactory neurons, the LIM homeobox gene lim-4 and the nuclear hormone receptor gene odr-7 are required to confer AWB and AWA-specific characteristics respectively, and to repress an AWC olfactory neuron-like default fate. Here, we show that AWA neuron fate is also regulated by a member of the LIM homeobox gene family, lin-11. lin-11 regulates AWA olfactory neuron differentiation by initiating expression of odr-7, which then autoregulates to maintain expression. lin-11 also regulates the fate of the ASG chemosensory neurons, which are the lineal sisters of the AWA neurons. We show that lin-11 is expressed dynamically in the AWA and ASG neurons, and that misexpression of lin-11 is sufficient to promote an ASG, but not an AWA fate, in a subset of neuron types. Our results suggest that differential temporal regulation of lin-11, presumably together with its interaction with asymmetrically segregated factors, results in the generation of the distinct AWA and ASG sensory neuron types. We propose that a LIM code may be an important contributor to the generation of functional diversity in a subset of olfactory and chemosensory neurons in C. elegans.

scholarly journals Interaction of dual intracellular signaling pathways activated by the melanocortin-3 receptor.

1994 ◽  
Vol 269 (18) ◽  
pp. 13162-13166
Author(s):  
Y. Konda ◽  
I. Gantz ◽  
J. DelValle ◽  
Y. Shimoto ◽  
H. Miwa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Signaling Pathways ◽  
Intracellular Signaling ◽  
Intracellular Signaling Pathways

The Caenorhabditis elegans odr-2 Gene Encodes a Novel Ly-6-Related Protein Required for Olfaction

Genetics ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 157 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph H Chou ◽  
Cornelia I Bargmann ◽  
Piali Sengupta
Keyword(s):  
Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Amino Terminus ◽  
Signaling Proteins ◽  
Related Protein ◽  
Olfactory Neurons ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Founding Member ◽  
High Concentrations

Abstract Caenorhabditis elegans odr-2 mutants are defective in the ability to chemotax to odorants that are recognized by the two AWC olfactory neurons. Like many other olfactory mutants, they retain responses to high concentrations of AWC-sensed odors; we show here that these residual responses are caused by the ability of other olfactory neurons (the AWA neurons) to be recruited at high odor concentrations. odr-2 encodes a membrane-associated protein related to the Ly-6 superfamily of GPI-linked signaling proteins and is the founding member of a C. elegans gene family with at least seven other members. Alternative splicing of odr-2 yields three predicted proteins that differ only at the extreme amino terminus. The three isoforms have different promoters, and one isoform may have a unique role in olfaction. An epitope-tagged ODR-2 protein is expressed at high levels in sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons and is enriched in axons. The AWC neurons are superficially normal in their development and structure in odr-2 mutants, but their function is impaired. Our results suggest that ODR-2 may regulate AWC signaling within the neuronal network required for chemotaxis.

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