Experience-dependent plasticity through neuropeptide signaling networks in C. elegans
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1
KU Leuven, Belgium
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2
MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
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3
INSERM U1024 Institut de biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, France
Many neuropeptide systems originated early in metazoan evolution and have conserved functions as hormones, but also as modulators of neural circuits and adaptive behaviors. However, our understanding of their modulatory actions and the evolutionary origin of these effects is limited. To unravel cellular and molecular mechanisms of peptidergic modulation, we use the nematode model Caenorhabditis elegans relying on its well-defined nervous system and the availability of targeted genetic tools. The C. elegans genome shows a broad diversity of at least 150 peptide precursor and receptor genes, but ligands for only a handful of neuropeptide receptors have been characterized so far. Using reverse pharmacology, we have mapped the neuropeptide-receptor network in C. elegans. Our results uncover an intertwined network of RFamide neuropeptide pathways with diverse functions in the regulation of behavioral states, such as arousal and feeding. Furthermore, we identified a broad range of evolutionarily conserved neuropeptide pathways including thyrotropin-releasing hormone, myoinhibitory peptide, and neuromedin U signaling systems. Genetic studies in C. elegans reveal a role of these conserved neuropeptide pathways in the experience-dependent modulation of decision-making, learning and memory. At the behavioral level, we find that neuropeptides can coordinately regulate distinct mechanisms for adapting behavior. Experience shapes the activity of peptidergic neurons in the underlying neural circuits, which modulate circuit output with specific temporal characteristics. Our results provide a scaffold to further unravel the mechanisms and evolutionary conservation of peptide actions in behavioral plasticity.
Keywords:
Neuropeptide,
G protein coupled receptor (GPCR),
experience-dependent plasticity,
C. elegans,
Behavior
Conference:
13th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience , Brussels, Belgium, 24 May - 24 May, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Platform presentation
Topic:
Cellular/Molecular Neuroscience
Citation:
Beets
I,
Zhang
G,
Peymen
K,
Watteyne
J,
Felix
M and
De Bono
M
(2019). Experience-dependent plasticity through neuropeptide signaling networks in C. elegans.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
13th National Congress of the Belgian Society for Neuroscience .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2019.96.00012
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Received:
30 Apr 2019;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Isabel Beets, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, isabel.beets@bio.kuleuven.be