Functional asymmetry in Caenorhabditis elegans taste neurons and its computational role in chemotaxis

Hiroshi Suzuki, Tod R. Thiele, Serge Faumont, Marina Ezcurra, Shawn R. Lockery () and William R. Schafer
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Hiroshi Suzuki: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA
Tod R. Thiele: Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA
Serge Faumont: Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA
Marina Ezcurra: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Shawn R. Lockery: Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 97403, USA
William R. Schafer: University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA

Nature, 2008, vol. 454, issue 7200, 114-117

Abstract: Nematode behaviour: Heading for the salt The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans uses two anatomically similar sensory neurons in its head to taste salt, and moves towards higher salt concentrations. Suzuki et al. show that the neuron on the left fires when salt concentration increases, whereas the one on the right responds to a decrease in concentration. So activity in the left sensory neuron stimulates the animal to crawl ahead, while activity of the right-hand cell induces turning. The circuitry and genes involved are reminiscent of retinal organization and the computational aspects of bacterial chemotaxis.

Date: 2008
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DOI: 10.1038/nature06927

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