title: PDF receptor signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans modulates locomotion and egg-laying.
abstract: In Caenorhabditis elegans, pdfr-1 encodes three receptors of the secretin receptor family. These G protein-coupled receptors are activated by three neuropeptides, pigment dispersing factors 1a, 1b and 2, which are encoded by pdf-1 and pdf-2. We isolated a PDF receptor loss-of-function allele (lst34) by means of a mutagenesis screen and show that the PDF signaling system is involved in locomotion and egg-laying. We demonstrate that the pdfr-1 mutant phenocopies the defective locomotor behavior of the pdf-1 mutant and that pdf-1 and pdf-2 behave antagonistically. All three PDF receptor splice variants are involved in the regulation of locomotor behavior. Cell specific rescue experiments show that this pdf mediated behavior is regulated by neurons rather than body wall muscles. We also show that egg-laying patterns of pdf-1 and pdf-2 mutants are affected, but not those of pdfr-1 mutants, pointing to a novel role for the PDF-system in the regulation of egg-laying.
authors.affiliation: Research Group of Functional Genomics and Proteomics, Department of Biology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. ellen.meelkop@bio.kuleuven.be
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meelkop
authors.forename: Liesbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Temmerman
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suetens
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Beets
authors.forename: Liesbeth
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Van Rompay
authors.forename: Nilesh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shanmugam
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Husson
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schoofs
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D055786:Gene Knockout Techniques; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D010058:Oviposition / Q000502:physiology*; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013550:Swimming / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; C530057:PDFR-1 protein, C elegans; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled