RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Serotonin-deficient mutants and male mating behavior in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 5407
OP 5417
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.13-12-05407.1993
VO 13
IS 12
A1 Loer, CM
A1 Kenyon, CJ
YR 1993
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/13/12/5407.abstract
AB Defining a behavior that requires the function of specific neurons in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans can allow one to screen for mutations that disrupt the specification or function of those neurons. We identified serotonin-immunoreactive neurons required for tail curling or “turning” behavior exhibited by C. elegans males during mating. Males mutant in three different genes that reduce serotonin expression, cat-1, cat-4, and bas-1, exhibited defects in turning behavior similar to those of wild-type males in which these neurons were ablated. The turning defect of cat-4 males was rescued by exogenous serotonin, consistent with the idea that their behavioral defect is caused by a lack of serotonin. While the serotonin-deficient mutants we analyzed shared certain behavioral traits, they were blocked for serotonin synthesis at different steps. Analysis of these and additional serotonin-deficient mutants may help us understand how a neuron controls the expression of a serotonergic phenotype.