Magnetosensitive neurons mediate geomagnetic orientation in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Abstract

Many organisms spanning from bacteria to mammals orient to the earth's magnetic field. For a few animals, central neurons responsive to earth-strength magnetic fields have been identified; however, magnetosensory neurons have yet to be identified in any animal. We show that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans orients to the earth's magnetic field during vertical burrowing migrations. Well-fed worms migrated up, while starved worms migrated down. Populations isolated from around the world, migrated at angles to the magnetic vector that would optimize vertical translation in their native soil, with northern- and southern-hemisphere worms displaying opposite migratory preferences. Magnetic orientation and vertical migrations required the TAX-4 cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channel in the AFD sensory neuron pair. Calcium imaging showed that these neurons respond to magnetic fields even without synaptic input. C. elegans may have adapted magnetic orientation to simplify their vertical burrowing migration by reducing the orientation task from three dimensions to one.

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Andrés Vidal-Gadea

School of Biological Sciences, Illinois State University, Normal, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Kristi Ward

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Celia Beron

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Navid Ghorashian

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Sertan Gokce

Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Joshua Russell

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Nicholas Truong

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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Adhishri Parikh

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Otilia Gadea

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Adela Ben-Yakar

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

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The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Jonathan Pierce-Shimomura

Department of Neuroscience; Center for Brain, Behavior and Evolution; Center for Learning and Memory; Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research; Institute of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, United States

For correspondence
jonps@austin.utexas.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

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