| Abstract |
Sleep is a reversible state, characterized by the inhibition of periodic behaviors that occur during waking hours. Caenorhabditis elegans demonstrates stress-induced sleep following exposure to environmental stressors, like noxious heat or ultraviolet irradiation. During this time, animals inhibit movement, feeding, and defecation, behavioral quiescence largely controlled by neuropeptide signaling from the ALA and RIS sleep interneurons. Here, we tested whether egg retention and/or production which occurs during suboptimal environmental conditions, is regulated by the ALA and/or RIS, or other neuropeptides. We find that during stress-induced sleep, worms reduce egg-laying behavior and egg production (i.e., fertility). While the behavior is modestly modified in the absence of the ALA and RIS, as well as some neuropeptides, fertility is regulated by other mechanisms.
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