title: A longitudinal study of Caenorhabditis elegans larvae reveals a novel locomotion switch, regulated by G(αs) signaling.
abstract: Despite their simplicity, longitudinal studies of invertebrate models are rare. We thus sought to characterize behavioral trends of Caenorhabditis elegans, from the mid fourth larval stage through the mid young adult stage. We found that, outside of lethargus, animals exhibited abrupt switching between two distinct behavioral states: active wakefulness and quiet wakefulness. The durations of epochs of active wakefulness exhibited non-Poisson statistics. Increased Gαs signaling stabilized the active wakefulness state before, during and after lethargus. In contrast, decreased Gαs signaling, decreased neuropeptide release, or decreased CREB activity destabilized active wakefulness outside of, but not during, lethargus. Taken together, our findings support a model in which protein kinase A (PKA) stabilizes active wakefulness, at least in part through two of its downstream targets: neuropeptide release and CREB. However, during lethargus, when active wakefulness is strongly suppressed, the native role of PKA signaling in modulating locomotion and quiescence may be minor. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00782.001.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Biophysical Dynamics, University of Chicago , Chicago , United States.
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tramm
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Labello
authors.forename: Stanislav
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burov
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Biron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D019521:Body Patterning; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins
keywords: C. elegans; CREB; PKA; longitudinal study; modulation; quiet wakefulness; unc-31/CAPS