Affiliation:
1. Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University
2. Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King’s College London
Abstract
An animal’s responses to environmental cues are critical for its reproductive program. Thus, a mechanism that allows the animal to sense and adjust to its environment should make for a more efficient reproductive physiology. Here, we demonstrate that in Caenorhabditis elegans specific sensory neurons influence onset of oogenesis through insulin signaling in response to food-derived cues. The chemosensory neurons ASJ modulate oogenesis onset through the insulin-like peptide (ILP) INS-6. In contrast, other sensory neurons, the olfactory neurons AWA, regulate food type-dependent differences in C. elegans fertilization rates, but not onset of oogenesis. AWA modulates fertilization rates at least partly in parallel to insulin receptor signaling, since the insulin receptor DAF-2 regulates fertilization independently of food type, which requires ILPs other than INS-6. Together our findings suggest that optimal reproduction requires the integration of diverse food-derived inputs through multiple neuronal signals acting on the C. elegans germline.
Funder
Wayne State University
European Research Council
Research Councils UK
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Subject
General Immunology and Microbiology,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology,General Medicine,General Neuroscience