An Intestine-Derived Neuropeptide Controls Avoidance Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans

Publication date: 5 September 2017
Source:Cell Reports, Volume 20, Issue 10
Author(s): Kiho Lee, Eleftherios Mylonakis
Adjusting to a continuously changing environment is a key feature of life. For metazoans, environmental changes include alterations in the gut microbiota, which can affect both memory and behavior. The bacteriovorous nematode Caenorhabditis elegans discriminates between pathogenic and non-pathogenic food sources, avoiding the consumption of pathogens. Here, we demonstrate the role of the intestine in regulating C. elegans avoidance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa by an insulin-like neuropeptide encoded by ins-11. The transcriptional expression of ins-11 is controlled through transcription factor hlh-30 and the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. ins-11 negatively controls signal pathways in neurons that regulate aversive learning behavior. Attenuation of ins-11 increased avoidance behavior and survival on pathogenic bacteria but decreased opportunities to find a food source as well as lowered energy storage and the number of viable progeny. Our findings support a role for the intestine in avoidance and identify an advantageous role for negative feedback that allows C. elegans to actively balance noxious and favorable environments.

Graphical abstract

Teaser

Lee and Mylonakis describe the inhibitory role of a neuropeptide that is encoded by ins-11 and is expressed in intestine. The neuropeptide prevents abnormal activation of neurons that stimulate aversive learning behavior in C. elegans. ins-11 allows nematodes to adjust when they move between pathogenic and non-pathogenic microbes.


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