A Single-Neuron Chemosensory Switch Determines the Valence of a Sexually Dimorphic Sensory Behavior.

ABSTRACT: Biological sex, a fundamental dimension of internal state, can modulate neural circuits to generate behavioral variation. Understanding how and why circuits are tuned by sex can provide important insights into neural and behavioral plasticity. Here we find that sexually dimorphic behavioral responses to C. elegans ascaroside sex pheromones are implemented by the functional modulation of shared chemosensory circuitry. In particular, the sexual state of a single sensory neuron pair, ADF, determines the nature of an animal's behavioral response regardless of the sex of the rest of the body. Genetic feminization of ADF causes males to be repelled by, rather than attracted to, ascarosides, whereas masculinization of ADF has the opposite effect in hermaphrodites. When ADF is ablated, both sexes

SUBMITTER: Fagan KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5862148 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature