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Elife

Title:		Regulatory changes in two chemoreceptor genes contribute to a Caenorhabditis elegans QTL for foraging behavior
Author(s):		Greene JS; Dobosiewicz M; Butcher RA; McGrath PT; Bargmann CI;
Address:		"Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, New York, United States. Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United States. Department of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, United States"
Journal Title:		Elife
Year:		2016
Volume:		20161128
Issue:
Page Number:		-
DOI:		10.7554/eLife.21454
ISSN/ISBN:		2050-084X (Electronic) 2050-084X (Linking)
Abstract:		"Natural isolates of C. elegans differ in their sensitivity to pheromones that inhibit exploratory behavior. Previous studies identified a QTL for pheromone sensitivity that includes alternative alleles of srx-43, a chemoreceptor that inhibits exploration through its activity in ASI sensory neurons. Here we show that the QTL is multigenic and includes alternative alleles of srx-44, a second chemoreceptor gene that modifies pheromone sensitivity. srx-44 either promotes or inhibits exploration depending on its expression in the ASJ or ADL sensory neurons, respectively. Naturally occurring pheromone insensitivity results in part from previously described changes in srx-43 expression levels, and in part from increased srx-44 expression in ASJ, which antagonizes ASI and ADL. Antagonism between the sensory neurons results in cellular epistasis that is reflected in their transcription of insulin genes that regulate exploration. These results and genome-wide evidence suggest that chemoreceptor genes may be preferred sites of adaptive variation in C. elegans"
Keywords:		"Animals *Behavior, Animal Caenorhabditis elegans/*genetics/*physiology Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins/genetics/*metabolism *Gene Expression Regulation Motion Pheromones/metabolism *Quantitative Trait Loci Receptors, Cell Surface/genetics/*metabolism Rece;"
Notes:		"MedlineGreene, Joshua S Dobosiewicz, May Butcher, Rebecca A McGrath, Patrick T Bargmann, Cornelia I eng F30 MH101931/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ P40 OD010440/OD/NIH HHS/ R01 GM114170/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ R01 GM118775/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ HHMI/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2016/11/29 Elife. 2016 Nov 28; 5:e21454. doi: 10.7554/eLife.21454"