Transcriptomic profiling of sex-specific olfactory neurons reveals subset-specific receptor expression in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans utilizes chemosensation to navigate an ever-changing environment for its survival. A class of secreted small-molecule pheromones, termed ascarosides, play an important role in olfactory perception by affecting biological functions ranging from development to behavior. The ascaroside #8 (ascr#8) mediates sex-specific behaviors, driving avoidance in hermaphrodites and attraction in males. Males sense ascr#8 via the ciliated male-specific cephalic sensory (CEM) neurons, which exhibit radial symmetry along dorsal-ventral and left-right axes. Calcium imaging studies suggest a complex neural coding mechanism that translates stochastic physiological responses in these neurons to reliable behavioral outputs. To test the hypothesis that neurophysiological complex

SUBMITTER: Reilly DK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10319972 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature