Article abstract
Nature Neuroscience 11, 916 - 922 (2008)
Published online: 6 July 2008 | doi:10.1038/nn.2155
Light-sensitive neurons and channels mediate phototaxis in C. elegans
Alex Ward1,2,5, Jie Liu1,5, Zhaoyang Feng1,4 & X Z Shawn Xu1,2,3
Abstract
Phototaxis behavior is commonly observed in animals with light-sensing organs. C. elegans, however, is generally believed to lack phototaxis, as this animal lives in darkness (soil) and does not possess eyes. Here, we found that light stimuli elicited negative phototaxis in C. elegans and that this behavior is important for survival. We identified a group of ciliary sensory neurons as candidate photoreceptor cells for mediating phototaxis. Furthermore, we found that light excited photoreceptor cells by evoking a depolarizing conductance carried by cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP)-sensitive cyclic nucleotide–gated (CNG) channels, revealing a conservation in phototransduction between worms and vertebrates. These results identify a new sensory modality in C. elegans and suggest that animals living in dark environments without light-sensing organs may not be presumed to be light insensitive. We propose that urbilaterians, the last common ancestor of bilaterians, might have already evolved a visual system that employs CNG channels and the second messenger cGMP for phototransduction.
- Life Sciences Institute, University of Michigan, 210 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Michigan, 210 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, University of Michigan, 210 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA.
- Present address: Department of Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
- These authors contributed equally to this work.
Correspondence to: X Z Shawn Xu1,2,3 e-mail: shawnxu@umich.edu
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