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Curr Biol

Title:		A Single-Neuron Chemosensory Switch Determines the Valence of a Sexually Dimorphic Sensory Behavior
Author(s):		Fagan KA; Luo J; Lagoy RC; Schroeder FC; Albrecht DR; Portman DS;
Address:		"Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610, USA. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610, USA; Center for Neurotherapeutics Development, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610, USA. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 60 Prescott Street, Room 4004, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Boyce Thompson Institute, 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610, USA; Center for Neurotherapeutics Development, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610, USA; Departments of Biomedical Genetics, Neuroscience, and Biology, University of Rochester, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Box 645, Rochester, NY 14610, USA. Electronic address: douglas.portman@rochester.edu"
Journal Title:		Curr Biol
Year:		2018
Volume:		20180308
Issue:		6
Page Number:		902 - 914
DOI:		10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.029
ISSN/ISBN:		1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Print) 0960-9822 (Linking)
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 are weakly repelled by ascarosides. Genetic sex modulates ADF function by tuning chemosensation: although ADF is functional in both sexes, it detects the ascaroside ascr#3 only in males, a consequence of cell-autonomous action of the master sexual regulator tra-1. This occurs in part through the conserved DM-domain gene mab-3, which promotes the male state of ADF. The sexual modulation of ADF has a key role in reproductive fitness, as feminization or ablation of ADF renders males unable to use ascarosides to locate mates. Our results reveal an economical mechanism in which sex-specific behavioral valence arises through the cell-autonomous regulation of a chemosensory switch by genetic sex, allowing a social cue with salience for both sexes to elicit navigational responses commensurate with the differing needs of each"
Keywords:		"Animals Behavior, Animal/physiology Caenorhabditis elegans/metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/metabolism/physiology Chemoreceptor Cells/metabolism DNA-Binding Proteins/metabolism/physiology Female Genetic Fitness/*physiology Male Nervous System Ne;Neuroscience;"
Notes:		"MedlineFagan, Kelli A Luo, Jintao Lagoy, Ross C Schroeder, Frank C Albrecht, Dirk R Portman, Douglas S eng F31 NS086283/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/ P40 OD010440/OD/NIH HHS/ R01 GM088290/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ R01 GM108885/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2018/03/13 Curr Biol. 2018 Mar 19; 28(6):902-914.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.029. Epub 2018 Mar 8"