C. elegans enteric motor neurons fire synchronized action potentials underlying the defecation motor program

Jingyuan Jiang, Yifan Su, Ruilin Zhang, Haiwen Li, Louis Tao and Qiang Liu ()
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Jingyuan Jiang: Peking University
Yifan Su: Peking University
Ruilin Zhang: Peking University
Haiwen Li: Peking University
Louis Tao: Peking University
Qiang Liu: The Rockefeller University

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract C. elegans neurons were thought to be non-spiking until our recent discovery of action potentials in the sensory neuron AWA; however, the extent to which the C. elegans nervous system relies on analog or digital coding is unclear. Here we show that the enteric motor neurons AVL and DVB fire synchronous all-or-none calcium-mediated action potentials following the intestinal pacemaker during the rhythmic C. elegans defecation behavior. AVL fires unusual compound action potentials with each depolarizing calcium spike mediated by UNC-2 followed by a hyperpolarizing potassium spike mediated by a repolarization-activated potassium channel EXP-2. Simultaneous behavior tracking and imaging in free-moving animals suggest that action potentials initiated in AVL propagate along its axon to activate precisely timed DVB action potentials through the INX-1 gap junction. This work identifies a novel circuit of spiking neurons in C. elegans that uses digital coding for long-distance communication and temporal synchronization underlying reliable behavioral rhythm.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30452-y

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