Altered Sensory Code Drives Juvenile-to-Adult Behavioral Maturation in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Adults perform better than juveniles in food-seeking tasks. Using the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans to probe the neural mechanisms underlying behavioral maturation, we found that adults and juveniles require different combinations of sensory neurons to generate age-specific food-seeking behavior. We first show that adults and juveniles differ in their response to and preference for food-associated odors, and we analyze genetic mutants to map the neuronal circuits required for those behavioral responses. We developed a novel device to trap juveniles and record their neuronal activity. Activity measurements revealed that adult and juvenile AWA sensory neurons respond to the addition of diacetyl stimulus, whereas AWB, ASK, and AWC sensory neurons encode its removal specifically in adults. F

SUBMITTER: Hale LA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5220224 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature