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Tsai SH, Wu YC, Palomino DF, Schroeder FC, Pan CL. Peripheral peroxisomal β-oxidation engages neuronal serotonin signaling to drive stress-induced aversive memory in C. elegans. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113996. [PMID: 38520690 PMCID: PMC11087011 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Physiological dysfunction confers negative valence to coincidental sensory cues to induce the formation of aversive associative memory. How peripheral tissue stress engages neuromodulatory mechanisms to form aversive memory is poorly understood. Here, we show that in the nematode C. elegans, mitochondrial disruption induces aversive memory through peroxisomal β-oxidation genes in non-neural tissues, including pmp-4/very-long-chain fatty acid transporter, dhs-28/3-hydroxylacyl-CoA dehydrogenase, and daf-22/3-ketoacyl-CoA thiolase. Upregulation of peroxisomal β-oxidation genes under mitochondrial stress requires the nuclear hormone receptor NHR-49. Importantly, the memory-promoting function of peroxisomal β-oxidation is independent of its canonical role in pheromone production. Peripheral signals derived from the peroxisomes target NSM, a critical neuron for memory formation under stress, to upregulate serotonin synthesis and remodel evoked responses to sensory cues. Our genetic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic approaches establish peroxisomal lipid signaling as a crucial mechanism that connects peripheral mitochondrial stress to central serotonin neuromodulation in aversive memory formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shang-Heng Tsai
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan; Center for Precision Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Chun Wu
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan; Center for Precision Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan
| | - Diana Fajardo Palomino
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Frank C Schroeder
- Boyce Thompson Institute and Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Chun-Liang Pan
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan.
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Huang J, Zheng X, Tian M, Zhang K. Ammonia and Nematode Ascaroside Are Synergistic in Trap Formation in Arthrobotrys oligospora. Pathogens 2023; 12:1114. [PMID: 37764922 PMCID: PMC10536950 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens12091114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Nematode-trapping (NT) fungi are natural predators of the soil living nematodes. Diverse external signals mediate the generation of predatory devices of NT fungi. Among these, broad ascarosides and nitrogenous ammonia are highly efficient inducers for trap structure initiation. However, the overlay effect of ammonia and ascaroside on the trap morphogenesis remains unclear. This study demonstrated that the combination of nitrogenous substances with nematode-derived ascarosides led to higher trap production compared to the single inducing cues; notably, ammonia and Ascr#18 had the most synergistic effect on the trap in A. oligospora. Further, the deletion of ammonia transceptor Amt43 blocked trap formation against ammonia addition in A. oligospora but not for the ascaroside Ascr#18 induction. Moreover, ammonia addition could promote plasma endocytosis in the process of trap formation. In contrast, ascaroside addition would facilitate the stability of intracellular organization away from endocytosis. Therefore, there is a synergistic effect on trap induction from different nitrogenous and ascaroside signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinrong Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (J.H.); (X.Z.)
| | - Xi Zheng
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (J.H.); (X.Z.)
| | - Mengqing Tian
- Key Laboratory for Potato Biology of Yunnan Province, The CAAS-YNNU-YINMORE Joint Academy of Potato Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650091, China;
| | - Keqin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; (J.H.); (X.Z.)
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Gümüşderelioğlu S, Resch L, Brock T, Luxton GWG, Cope H, Tan QKG, Hopkins C, Starr DA. A humanized Caenorhabditis elegans model of hereditary spastic paraplegia-associated variants in KLC4. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:dmm050076. [PMID: 37565267 PMCID: PMC10481945 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.050076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of degenerative neurological disorders. We identified a variant in human kinesin light chain 4 (KLC4) that is suspected to be associated with autosomal-dominant HSP. How this and other variants relate to pathologies is unknown. We created a humanized Caenorhabditis elegans model in which klc-2 was replaced by human KLC4 (referred to as hKLC4) and assessed the extent to which hKLC4 retained function in the worm. We observed a slight decrease in motility but no nuclear migration defects in the humanized worms, suggesting that hKLC4 retains much of the function of klc-2. Five hKLC4 variants were introduced into the humanized model. The clinical variant led to early lethality, with significant defects in nuclear migration when homozygous and a weak nuclear migration defect when heterozygous, possibly correlating with the clinical finding of late-onset HSP when the proband was heterozygous. Thus, we were able to establish humanized C. elegans as an animal model for HSP and to use it to test the significance of five variants of uncertain significance in the human gene KLC4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selin Gümüşderelioğlu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | | | | | | | - G. W. Gant Luxton
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Heidi Cope
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Queenie K.-G. Tan
- Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | | | - Daniel A. Starr
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Yang B, Wang J, Zheng X, Wang X. Nematode Pheromones: Structures and Functions. Molecules 2023; 28:2409. [PMID: 36903652 PMCID: PMC10005090 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28052409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Pheromones are chemical signals secreted by one individual that can affect the behaviors of other individuals within the same species. Ascaroside is an evolutionarily conserved family of nematode pheromones that play an integral role in the development, lifespan, propagation, and stress response of nematodes. Their general structure comprises the dideoxysugar ascarylose and fatty-acid-like side chains. Ascarosides can vary structurally and functionally according to the lengths of their side chains and how they are derivatized with different moieties. In this review, we mainly describe the chemical structures of ascarosides and their different effects on the development, mating, and aggregation of nematodes, as well as how they are synthesized and regulated. In addition, we discuss their influences on other species in various aspects. This review provides a reference for the functions and structures of ascarosides and enables their better application.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Xin Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
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Small flexible automated system for monitoring Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan based on active vision and image processing techniques. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12289. [PMID: 34112931 PMCID: PMC8192789 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91898-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditionally Caenorhabditis elegans lifespan assays are performed by manually inspecting nematodes with a dissection microscope, which involves daily counting of live/dead worms cultured in Petri plates for 21–25 days. This manual inspection requires the screening of hundreds of worms to ensure statistical robustness, and is therefore a time-consuming approach. In recent years, various automated artificial vision systems have been reported to increase the throughput, however they usually provide less accurate results than manual assays. The main problems identified when using these vision systems are the false positives and false negatives, which occur due to culture media changes, occluded zones, dirtiness or condensation of the Petri plates. In this work, we developed and described a new C. elegans monitoring machine, SiViS, which consists of a flexible and compact platform design to analyse C. elegans cultures using the standard Petri plates seeded with E. coli. Our system uses an active vision illumination technique and different image-processing pipelines for motion detection, both previously reported, providing a fully automated image processing pipeline. In addition, this study validated both these methods and the feasibility of the SiViS machine for lifespan experiments by comparing them with manual lifespan assays. Results demonstrated that the automated system yields consistent replicates (p-value log rank test 0.699), and there are no significant differences between automated system assays and traditionally manual assays (p-value 0.637). Finally, although we have focused on the use of SiViS in longevity assays, the system configuration is flexible and can, thus, be adapted to other C. elegans studies such as toxicity, mobility and behaviour.
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Abstract
For the first 25 years after the landmark 1974 paper that launched the field, most C. elegans biologists were content to think of their subjects as solitary creatures. C. elegans presented no shortage of fascinating biological problems, but some of the features that led Brenner to settle on this species-in particular, its free-living, self-fertilizing lifestyle-also seemed to reduce its potential for interesting social behavior. That perspective soon changed, with the last two decades bringing remarkable progress in identifying and understanding the complex interactions between worms. The growing appreciation that C. elegans behavior can only be meaningfully understood in the context of its ecology and evolution ensures that the coming years will see similarly exciting progress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas S Portman
- Departments of Biomedical Genetics, Neuroscience, and Biology, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
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Alcedo J, Prahlad V. Neuromodulators: an essential part of survival. J Neurogenet 2020; 34:475-481. [PMID: 33170042 PMCID: PMC7811185 DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2020.1839066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/15/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
The coordination between the animal's external environment and internal state requires constant modulation by chemicals known as neuromodulators. Neuromodulators, such as biogenic amines, neuropeptides and cytokines, promote organismal homeostasis. Over the past several decades, Caenorhabditiselegans has grown into a powerful model organism that allows the elucidation of the mechanisms of action of neuromodulators that are conserved across species. In this perspective, we highlight a collection of articles in this issue that describe how neuromodulators optimize C. elegans survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Alcedo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Veena Prahlad
- Department of Biology, Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, and Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
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