Gait-specific adaptation of locomotor activity in response to dietary restriction inCaenorhabditis elegans

Abstract

Locomotion is crucial for the survival of living organisms, as it allows foraging, flight and mating behaviour. In response to environmental cues, many organisms switch between alternative forms of locomotion, referred to as gaits. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits two gaits: swimming in liquids and crawling on dense gels. The kinematics and patterns of muscle activity differ between the two gaits, with swimming being less efficient than crawling. We found that C. elegans when grown on dietary restriction (DR) plates and then tested immediately for swimming activity exhibit an accelerated frequency of body-bending swimming compared with ad libitum-fed worms, resulting in an increased swimming speed. This response is independent of the presence or absence of food bacteria in the assay liquid. In contrast, the crawling speed of DR worms on assay agar plates is decreased and influenced by food availability. Because DR also attenuates the disturbed swimming activity of worms that are deficient in the presynaptic dopamine transporter DAT-1, our data link DR-induced alterations of the swimming gait to synaptic processes. This strongly suggests a biochemical rather than a biomechanical response to DR provoked by changes in the worm's body structure. We conclude that the increase in locomotor activity in response to DR is specific to the swimming gait and might represent a survival strategy, allowing food-deprived nematodes to exit unfavourable environments.

What insects can tell us about the origins of consciousness

“…However, there is no evidence that nematodes can actively hunt for things beyond their immediate sensory environment. Hungry nematodes respond to starvation with increased locomotion and dispersal in a random, rather than directed, search (121,122). By contrast, hungry rodents, ants, and bees will navigate to places where they have previously encountered food.…”

Locomotion Behavior Is Affected by the GαS Pathway and the Two-Pore-Domain K+ Channel TWK-7 Interacting in GABAergic Motor Neurons in Caenorhabditis elegans

“…The swimming activity of young adult C. elegans (age 72 hr) was analyzed as previously described (Lüersen et al 2014). Briefly, worms in a 50 ml droplet of M9 buffer were placed on a diagnostic slide (three wells, 10 mm diameter; Menzel) and immediately filmed for 1 min with a VRmagic C-9+/BW PRO IR-CUT camera (VRmagic, Germany) attached to a Zeiss Stemi 2000-C microscope (Zeiss [Carl Zeiss], Thornwood, CA).…”

“…A number of studies have reported that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits adaptation of its locomotor activity and locomotion behavior in response to changing environmental conditions and internal physiological states such as land/water transition, partial pressure of oxygen, viscosity, mechanical stimulation, temperature, food availability, and starvation or dietary restriction (Sawin et al 2000;Gaglia and Kenyon 2009;Vidal-Gadea et al 2011;Edwards et al 2012;Ma et al 2013;Lüersen et al 2014).…”

Complex Locomotion Behavior Changes Are Induced in Caenorhabditis elegans by the Lack of the Regulatory Leak K+ Channel TWK-7

“…Moreover, studies by Kawano et al (2011) revealed that an imbalanced neuronal activity between B-type and A-type motor neurons is responsible for directional movement. In response to mechanical, gustatory, olfactory, and thermal stimuli or food deprivation (Sawin et al 2000;Shtonda and Avery 2006;Clark et al 2007;Luo et al 2008;Ben Arous et al 2009;Luersen et al 2014), C. elegans shows adaptive locomotion behaviors. The stimulated backing escape response has been characterized in detail (Chalfie et al 1985;Donnelly et al 2013).…”