title: Pan-neuronal screening inCaenorhabditis elegansreveals asymmetric dynamics of AWC neurons is critical for thermal avoidance behavior.
abstract: Understanding neural functions inevitably involves arguments traversing multiple levels of hierarchy in biological systems. However, finding new components or mechanisms of such systems is extremely time-consuming due to the low efficiency of currently available functional screening techniques. To overcome such obstacles, we utilize pan-neuronal calcium imaging to broadly screen the activity of theC. elegansnervous system in response to thermal stimuli. A single pass of the screening procedure can identify much of the previously reported thermosensory circuitry as well as identify several unreported thermosensory neurons. Among the newly discovered neural functions, we investigated in detail the role of the AWCOFFneuron in thermal nociception. Combining functional calcium imaging and behavioral assays, we show that AWCOFFis essential for avoidance behavior following noxious heat stimulation by modifying the forward-to-reversal behavioral transition rate. We also show that the AWCOFFsignals adapt to repeated noxious thermal stimuli and quantify the corresponding behavioral adaptation.
authors.affiliation: Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Ippei
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kotera
authors.affiliation: Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Nhat Anh
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.affiliation: Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Jimmy Hj
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.|Department of Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Jarlath
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5395-9950
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Byrne Rodgers
authors.affiliation: Donnelly Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.|Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: William S
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0350-7507
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D057054:Molecular Imaging; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D059225:Nociception / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D000071442:Taxis Response / Q000502:physiology*; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium
keywords: C. elegans; calcium signaling; neuroscience; nociception; pan-neuronal