Expression and regulation of an FMRFamide‐related neuropeptide gene family in Caenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

FMRFamide (Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH2) and related peptides (FaRPs) have been found throughout the animal kingdom, where they are involved in many behaviors. We previously identified 22 genes comprising the flp gene family that encodes FaRPs in Caenorhabditis elegans; in this paper we report the identification of another flp gene, flp-23. As a first step toward determining their functional roles in C. elegans, we examined the cell-specific expression pattern of the flp gene family. Of the 19 flp genes examined, each gene is expressed in a distinct set of cells; these cells include interneurons, motor neurons, and sensory neurons that are involved in multiple behaviors, as well as supporting cells, muscle cells, and epidermal cells. Several flp genes show sex-specific expression patterns. Furthermore, we find that expression of two flp genes changes in response to the developmental state of the animal. Many neurons express multiple flp genes. To investigate how flp genes are regulated in different neuronal subtypes, we examined flp expression in a small, well-defined subset of neurons, the mechanosensory neurons. Mutations in the unc-86 and mec-3 genes, which are necessary for the production and differentiation of the mechanosensory neurons, result in the complete loss of flp-4, flp-8, and flp-20 expression in mechanosensory neurons. Collectively, these data indicate that members of the flp gene family are likely to influence multiple behaviors and that their regulation can be dependent on the developmental state of the organism.

The T-Box Gene tbx-2, the Homeobox Gene egl-5 and the Asymmetric Cell Division Gene ham-1 Specify Neural Fate in the HSN/PHB Lineage

“…In both of these reporter backgrounds, tbx-2(gm111) and tbx-2(ok529) arrested animals had sides with missing cells (Figures 2C9 and 5A) suggesting that the mutation specifically affected PHB. Consistent with this interpretation, the PHA marker ynIs45 (flp-15TGFP) revealed that the tbx-2 mutants were not missing PHAs Kim and Li 2004) (data not shown). Figure 2.-HSN and PHB phenotypes in tbx-2 and tbx-2 gm345 hermaphrodites.…”

FMRFamide-Like Neuropeptides and Mechanosensory Touch Receptor Neurons Regulate Male Sexual Turning Behavior inCaenorhabditis elegans

“…FMRFamide-like neuropeptides constitute a major family of C. elegans neuropeptides (Li et al, 1999;Kim and Li, 2004 The relationship between peptidergic and classical neurotransmitter signaling is an interesting topic. In the mammalian brain, the neuropeptide orexin A contributes to learning and addiction via modulation of glutamatergic excitability in dopaminergic neurons (Borgland et al, 2006).…”

“…The C. elegans genome contains at least 30 FMRFamide-like neuropeptide ( flp) genes that are predicted to encode over 70 biologically active FMRF-amide like neuropeptides (FLPs) (Li, 2005) (S. Husson and L. Schoofs, personal communication). At least 50% of C. elegans neurons express one or more flp genes (Kim and Li, 2004), indicating their potential roles in the nervous system. We explored flp gene function in regulating C. elegans male sexual behaviors and found that peptidergic signaling modulates the turning step.…”

Patterning of sexually dimorphic neurogenesis in the Caenorhabditis elegans ventral cord by Hox and TALE homeodomain transcription factors

“…LGII: ida-1::gfp(inIs179) (Zahn et al, 2004); LGIII: lin-39fosmid::gfp(wgIs18) (Zhong et al, 2010;Sarov et al, 2012), cat-1::GFP(otIs221) (Flames and Hobert, 2009); LGIV: tph-1::gfp(zdIs13) (Clark and Chiu, 2003), flp-22::gfp(ynIs50) (Kim and Li, 2004); LGV: tph-1::mCherry(cccIs1), tph-1::cfp(bxIs16) (Yang et al, 2007), bas-1::GFP(otIs226) (Flames and Hobert, 2009); LG unknown: flp-21:: gfp(ynIs80), lin-11fosmid::gfp(wgIs62) (Zhong et al, 2010;Sarov et al, 2012), cat-4::gfp(otIs225).…”