Evolution of lateralized gustation in nematodes

Abstract

AbstractAnimals with small nervous systems have a limited number of sensory neurons that must encode information from a changing environment. This problem is particularly exacerbated in nematodes that populate a wide variety of distinct ecological niches but only have a few sensory neurons available to encode multiple modalities. How does sensory diversity prevail within this neuronal constraint? To identify the genetic basis for patterning different nervous systems, we demonstrate that sensory neurons in thePristionchus pacificusrespond to various salt sensory cues in a manner that is partially distinct from that of the distantly related nematodeC. elegans. By visualizing neuronal activity patterns, we show that contrary to previous expectations based on its genome sequence, the salt responses ofP. pacificusare encoded in a left/right asymmetric manner in the bilateral ASE neuron pair. Our study illustrates patterns of evolutionary stability and change in the gustatory system of nematodes.