title: Regulatory changes in two chemoreceptor genes contribute to aCaenorhabditis elegansQTL for foraging behavior.
abstract: Natural isolates ofC. elegansdiffer in their sensitivity to pheromones that inhibit exploratory behavior. Previous studies identified a QTL for pheromone sensitivity that includes alternative alleles ofsrx-43,a chemoreceptor that inhibits exploration through its activity in ASI sensory neurons. Here we show that the QTL is multigenic and includes alternative alleles ofsrx-44,a second chemoreceptor gene that modifies pheromone sensitivity.srx-44either promotes or inhibits exploration depending on its expression in the ASJ or ADL sensory neurons, respectively. Naturally occurring pheromone insensitivity results in part from previously described changes insrx-43expression levels, and in part from increasedsrx-44expression in ASJ, which antagonizes ASI and ADL. Antagonism between the sensory neurons results in cellular epistasis that is reflected in their transcription of insulin genes that regulate exploration. These results and genome-wide evidence suggest that chemoreceptor genes may be preferred sites of adaptive variation inC. elegans.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Joshua S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dobosiewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States.
authors.forename: Rebecca A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0925-4459
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Butcher
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States.
authors.forename: Patrick T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: McGrath
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States.
authors.forename: Cornelia I
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8484-0618
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Bargmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D009038:Motion; D010675:Pheromones / Q000378:metabolism; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D010675:Pheromones; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; C000615783:SRX-43 protein, C elegans; C000624699:SRX-44 protein, C elegans
keywords: C. elegans; QTL analysis; evolutionary biology; genomics; insulin signaling; neuroscience; pheromone receptor; supergene