RRC ID 65332
Author Pereira AG, Gracida X, Kagias K, Zhang Y.
Title C. elegans aversive olfactory learning generates diverse intergenerational effects.
Journal J Neurogenet
Abstract Parental experience can modulate the behavior of their progeny. While the molecular mechanisms underlying parental effects or inheritance of behavioral traits have been studied under several environmental conditions, it remains largely unexplored how the nature of parental experience affects the information transferred to the next generation. To address this question, we used C. elegans, a nematode that feeds on bacteria in its habitat. Some of these bacteria are pathogenic and the worm learns to avoid them after a brief exposure. We found, unexpectedly, that a short parental experience increased the preference for the pathogen in the progeny. Furthermore, increasing the duration of parental exposure switched the response of the progeny from attraction to avoidance. To characterize the underlying molecular mechanisms, we found that the RNA-dependent RNA Polymerase (RdRP) RRF-3, required for the biogenesis of 26 G endo-siRNAs, regulated both types of intergenerational effects. Together, we show that different parental experiences with the same environmental stimulus generate different effects on the behavior of the progeny through small RNA-mediated regulation of gene expression.
Volume 34(3-4)
Pages 378-388
Published 2020-1-1
DOI 10.1080/01677063.2020.1819265
PMID 32940103
PMC PMC8034421
MeSH Animals Avoidance Learning / physiology* Caenorhabditis elegans / embryology Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology* Choice Behavior / physiology Embryo, Nonmammalian / physiology Environmental Exposure Escherichia coli Feeding Behavior / physiology* Gene Expression Regulation / physiology* Hermaphroditic Organisms Mutation Odorants Pseudomonas aeruginosa / pathogenicity RNA Interference RNA, Helminth / genetics RNA, Small Interfering / genetics RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / genetics RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase / physiology* Smell / physiology*
Resource
C.elegans tm1094