Negative regulation and gain control of sensory neurons by the C. elegans calcineurin TAX-6.
Animals sense and adapt to variable environments by regulating appropriate sensory signal transduction pathways. Here, we show that calcineurin plays a key role in regulating the gain of sensory neuron responsiveness across multiple modalities. C. elegans animals bearing a loss-of-function mutation in TAX-6, a calcineurin A subunit, exhibit pleiotropic abnormalities, including many aberrant sensory behaviors. The tax-6 mutant defect in thermosensation is consistent with hyperactivation of the AFD thermosensory neurons. Conversely, constitutive activation of TAX-6 causes a behavioral phenotype consistent with inactivation of AFD neurons. In olfactory neurons, the impaired olfactory response of tax-6 mutants to an AWC-sensed odorant is caused by hyperadaptation, which is suppressible by a mutation causing defective olfactory adaptation. Taken together, our results suggest that stimulus-evoked calcium entry activates calcineurin, which in turn negatively regulates multiple aspects of sensory signaling.
Kuhara
Atsushi
A
Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, 464-8602, Nagoya, Japan.
Inada
Hitoshi
H
Katsura
Isao
I
Mori
Ikue
I
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008124:Locomotion; D008954:Models, Biological; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009475:Neurons, Afferent / Q000502:physiology*; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D000439:Pentanols / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; D013697:Thermosensing; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C108820:OSM-9 protein, C elegans; D000439:Pentanols; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D050916:TRPV Cation Channels; D050051:Transient Receptor Potential Channels; C029683:isopentyl alcohol; D019703:Calcineurin