Food responsiveness regulates episodic behavioral states in Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Animals optimize survival and reproduction in part through control of behavioral states, which depend on an organism's internal and external environments. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans a variety of behavioral states have been described, including roaming, dwelling, quiescence, and episodic swimming. These states have been considered in isolation under varied experimental conditions, making it difficult to establish a unified picture of how they are regulated. Using long-term imaging, we examined C. elegans episodic behavioral states under varied mechanical and nutritional environments. We found that animals alternate between high-activity (active) and low-activity (sedentary) episodes in any mechanical environment, while the incidence of episodes and their behavioral

SUBMITTER: McCloskey RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5411472 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature