Pathogenic bacteria modulate pheromone response to promote mating.

ABSTRACT: Pathogens generate ubiquitous selective pressures and host-pathogen interactions alter social behaviours in many animals^1-4. However, very little is known about the neuronal mechanisms underlying pathogen-induced changes in social behaviour. Here we show that in adult Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites, exposure to a bacterial pathogen (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) modulates sensory responses to pheromones by inducing the expression of the chemoreceptor STR-44 to promote mating. Under standard conditions, C. elegans hermaphrodites avoid a mixture of ascaroside pheromones to facilitate dispersal^5-13. We find that exposure to the pathogenic Pseudomonas bacteria enables pheromone responses in AWA sensory neurons, which mediate attractive chemotaxis, to suppress the avoidan

SUBMITTER: Wu T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10732163 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature