Genetic Variants That Modify the Neuroendocrine Regulation of Foraging Behavior in C. elegans.

ABSTRACT: The molecular mechanisms underlying diversity in animal behavior are not well understood. A major experimental challenge is determining the contribution of genetic variants that affect neuronal gene expression to differences in behavioral traits. The neuroendocrine TGF-beta ligand, DAF-7, regulates diverse behavioral responses of Caenorhabditis elegans to bacterial food and pathogens. The dynamic neuron-specific expression of daf-7 is modulated by environmental and endogenous bacteria-derived cues. Here, we investigated natural variation in the expression of daf-7 from the ASJ pair of chemosensory neurons and identified common variants in gap-2, encoding a GTPase-Activating Protein homologous to mammalian SynGAP proteins, which modify daf-7 expression cel

SUBMITTER: Lee H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10515746 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature