Co-option of neurotransmitter signaling for inter-organismal communication in C. elegans

ZHANG, YING K.; COYLE, VERONICA L.; SCHROEDER, FRANK C.; DILORETO, ELIZABETH M.; RAYES, DIEGO; ALKEMA, MARK J.; CHUTE, CHRISTOPHER D.; REILLY, DOUGLAS K.; CHOI, HEE JUNE; SRINIVASAN, JAGAN

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS

Nature

Año: 2019 vol. 10

2041-1723

Biogenic amine neurotransmitters play a central role in metazoanbiology, and both theirchemical structures and cognate receptors are evolutionarily conserved.Their primary rolesare in cell-to-cell signaling, as biogenic amines are not normallyrecruited for communication between separate individuals. Here, we show that in the nematode C.elegans, a neurotransmitter-sensing G protein-coupled receptor, TYRA-2, isrequired for avoidance responses to osas#9, an ascaroside pheromone that incorporates theneurotransmitter, octopamine. Neuronal ablation, cell-specific genetic rescue, andcalcium imaging show that tyra-2 expression in the nociceptive neuron, ASH, is necessary andsufficient to induce osas#9 avoidance. Ectopic expression in the AWA neuron, which isgenerally associated with attractive responses, reverses the response to osas#9, resulting inattraction instead of avoidance behavior, confirming that TYRA-2 partakes in the sensing ofosas#9. The TYRA-2/osas#9 signaling system represents an inter-organismal communicationchannel that evolved via co-option of a neurotransmitter and its cognate receptor.