Glia-derived neurons are required for sex-specific learning in C. elegans

Article

关键词: NEMATODE CAENORHABDITIS-ELEGANS;    MATE-SEARCHING BEHAVIOR;    GENE-EXPRESSION;    NERVOUS-SYSTEM;    FATE SPECIFICATION;    CELLS;    DROSOPHILA;    TRANSDIFFERENTIATION;    RECONSTRUCTION;    CIRCUIT;   

DOI  :  10.1038/nature15700

来源: SCIE

【 摘 要 】

Sex differences in behaviour extend to cognitive-like processes such as learning, but the underlying dimorphisms in neural circuit development and organization that generate these behavioural differences are largely unknown. Here we define at the single-cell level-from development, through neural circuit connectivity, to function-the neural basis of a sex-specific learning in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We show that sexual conditioning, a form of associative learning, requires a pair of male-specific interneurons whose progenitors are fully differentiated glia. These neurons are generated during sexual maturation and incorporated into pre-exisiting sex-shared circuits to couple chemotactic responses to reproductive priorities. Our findings reveal a general role for glia as neural progenitors across metazoan taxa and demonstrate that the addition of sex-specific neuron types to brain circuits during sexual maturation is an important mechanism for the generation of sexually dimorphic plasticity in learning.

【 授权许可】

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