title: Dissecting a central flip-flop circuit that integrates contradictory sensory cues in C. elegans feeding regulation.
abstract: Feeding behaviour is modulated by both environmental cues and internal physiological states. Appetite is commonly boosted by the pleasant smell (or appearance) of food and destroyed by a bad taste. In reality, animals sense multiple environmental cues at the same time and it is not clear how these sensory inputs are integrated and a decision is made to regulate feeding behaviour accordingly. Here we show that feeding behaviour in Caenorhabditis elegans can be either facilitated by attractive odours or suppressed by repellents. By identifying mutants that are defective for sensory-mediated feeding regulation, we dissected a central flip-flop circuit that integrates two contradictory sensory inputs and generates bistable hormone output to regulate feeding behaviour. As feeding regulation is fundamental to animal survival, we speculate that the basic organizational logic identified here in C. elegans is likely convergent throughout different phyla.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Zhaoyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yidong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Yalan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Wenming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Song
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Weipin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zijing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Anlian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Zhengxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Xu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D009812:Odorants / Q000032:analysis; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins