Neuroendocrine modulation sustains the C. elegans forward motor state
Maria A Lim,
Jyothsna Chitturi,
Valeriya Laskova,
Jun Meng,
Daniel Findeis,
Anne Wiekenberg,
Ben Mulcahy,
Linjiao Luo,
Yan Li,
Yangning Lu,
Wesley Hung,
Yixin Qu,
Chi-Yip Ho,
Douglas Holmyard,
Ni Ji,
Rebecca McWhirter,
Aravinthan DT Samuel,
David M Miller,
Ralf Schnabel,
John A Calarco,
Mei Zhen
Affiliations
Maria A Lim
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Jyothsna Chitturi
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Valeriya Laskova
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Jun Meng
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Daniel Findeis
Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig Carolo Wilhelmina, Braunschweig, Germany
Anne Wiekenberg
Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig Carolo Wilhelmina, Braunschweig, Germany
Ben Mulcahy
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Linjiao Luo
Key Laboratory of Modern Acoustics, Ministry of Education, Department of Physics, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
Yan Li
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Yangning Lu
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Wesley Hung
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Yixin Qu
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Chi-Yip Ho
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Douglas Holmyard
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Ni Ji
Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States; Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
Rebecca McWhirter
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
Aravinthan DT Samuel
Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States; Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
David M Miller
Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States
Ralf Schnabel
Institut für Genetik, Technische Universität Braunschweig Carolo Wilhelmina, Braunschweig, Germany
John A Calarco
FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States
Mei Zhen
Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Neuromodulators shape neural circuit dynamics. Combining electron microscopy, genetics, transcriptome profiling, calcium imaging, and optogenetics, we discovered a peptidergic neuron that modulates C. elegans motor circuit dynamics. The Six/SO-family homeobox transcription factor UNC-39 governs lineage-specific neurogenesis to give rise to a neuron RID. RID bears the anatomic hallmarks of a specialized endocrine neuron: it harbors near-exclusive dense core vesicles that cluster periodically along the axon, and expresses multiple neuropeptides, including the FMRF-amide-related FLP-14. RID activity increases during forward movement. Ablating RID reduces the sustainability of forward movement, a phenotype partially recapitulated by removing FLP-14. Optogenetic depolarization of RID prolongs forward movement, an effect reduced in the absence of FLP-14. Together, these results establish the role of a neuroendocrine cell RID in sustaining a specific behavioral state in C. elegans.
