Abstract

BackgroundTo survive dynamic environments, it is essential for all animals to appropriately modulate their behavior in response to various stimulus intensities. For instance, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans suppresses the rate of egg-laying in response to intense mechanical stimuli, in a manner dependent on the mechanosensory neurons FLP and PVD. We have found that the unilaterally placed single interneuron ALA acted as a high-threshold mechanosensor, and that it was required for this protective behavioral response.ResultsALA was required for the inhibition of egg-laying in response to a strong (picking-like) mechanical stimulus, characteristic of routine handling of the animals. Moreover, ALA did not respond physiologically to less intense touch stimuli, but exhibited distinct physiological responses to anterior and posterior picking-like touch, suggesting that it could distinguish between spatially separated stimuli. These responses required neither neurotransmitter nor neuropeptide release from potential upstream neurons. In contrast, the long, bilaterally symmetric processes of ALA itself were required for producing its physiological responses; when they were severed, responses to stimuli administered between the cut and the cell body were unaffected, while responses to stimuli administered posterior to the cut were abolished.ConclusionC. elegans neurons are typically classified into three major groups: sensory neurons with specialized sensory dendrites, interneurons, and motoneurons with neuromuscular junctions. Our findings suggest that ALA can autonomously sense intense touch and is thus a dual-function neuron, i.e., an interneuron as well as a novel high-threshold mechanosensor.

Highlights

  • To survive dynamic environments, it is essential for all animals to appropriately modulate their behavior in response to various stimulus intensities

  • C. elegans neurons are typically classified into three major groups: sensory neurons with specialized sensory dendrites, interneurons, and motoneurons with neuromuscular junctions

  • The physiological responses of ALA to anterior and posterior touch were distinct, suggesting that it could distinguish between spatially separated stimuli

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Summary

Introduction

It is essential for all animals to appropriately modulate their behavior in response to various stimulus intensities. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans suppresses the rate of egg-laying in response to intense mechanical stimuli, in a manner dependent on the mechanosensory neurons FLP and PVD. We have found that the unilaterally placed single interneuron ALA acted as a high-threshold mechanosensor, and that it was required for this protective behavioral response. To survive in dynamic or harsh environments, all animals must appropriately modulate their responses to various stimulus intensities. ALA is a unilaterally-placed single interneuron (Figure 1A) It has a pair of bilaterally-symmetric processes that branch from the soma, and proceed along the left and right sides of the body to the tail region, adjacent to the excretory canals. ALA has been shown to be involved in reducing the velocity of animals, as well as their rate of pharyngeal (A)

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