Intestine-to-neuronal signaling alters risk-taking behaviors in food-deprived Caenorhabditis elegans.

ABSTRACT: Animals integrate changes in external and internal environments to generate behavior. While neural circuits detecting external cues have been mapped, less is known about how internal states like hunger are integrated into behavioral outputs. Here, we use the nematode C. elegans to examine how changes in internal nutritional status affect chemosensory behaviors. We show that acute food deprivation leads to a reversible decline in repellent, but not attractant, sensitivity. This behavioral change requires two conserved transcription factors MML-1 (MondoA) and HLH-30 (TFEB), both of which translocate from the intestinal nuclei to the cytoplasm during food deprivation. Next, we identify the insulin-like peptide INS-31 as a candidate ligand relaying food-status signals from the intestine to oth

SUBMITTER: Matty MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9070953 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature