Thermosensory signaling by TRPM is processed by brain serotonergic neurons to produce planarian thermotaxis.

ABSTRACT: For most organisms, sensitive recognition of even slight changes in environmental temperature is essential for adjusting their behavioral strategies to ensure homeostasis and survival. However, much remains to be understood about the molecular and cellular processes that regulate thermosensation and the corresponding behavioral responses. Planarians display clear thermotaxis, although they have a relatively simple brain. Here, we devised a quantitative thermotaxis assay and unraveled a neural pathway involved in planarian thermotaxis by combinatory behavioral assays and RNAi analysis. We found that thermosensory neurons that expressed a planarian Dugesia japonica homolog of the Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin family a (DjTRPMa) gene were required for the thermotaxis. Interestingly,

SUBMITTER: Inoue T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6608440 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature