C. elegans male sensory-motor neurons and dopaminergic support cells couple ejaculation and post-ejaculatory behaviors
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Texas A&M University, United States
- Texas A&M University, United States
Abstract
The circuit structure and function underlying post-coital male behaviors remain poorly understood. Using mutant analysis, laser ablation, optogenetics and Ca2+ imaging, we observed that following C. elegans male copulation, the duration of post-coital lethargy is coupled to cellular events involved in ejaculation. We show that the SPV and SPD spicule-associated sensory neurons and the spicule socket neuronal support cells function with intromission circuit components, including the cholinergic SPC and PCB and the glutamatergic PCA sensory-motor neurons, to coordinate sex muscle contractions with initiation and continuation of sperm movement. Our observations suggest that the SPV and SPD and their associated dopamine-containing socket cells sense the intrauterine environment through cellular endings exposed at the spicule tips and regulate both sperm release into the hermaphrodite and the recovery from post-coital lethargy.
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© 2014, LeBoeuf et al.
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C. elegans male sensory-motor neurons and dopaminergic support cells couple ejaculation and post-ejaculatory behaviors
eLife 3:e02938.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02938
