RRC ID 46160
著者 Maguire SM, Clark CM, Nunnari J, Pirri JK, Alkema MJ.
タイトル The C. elegans touch response facilitates escape from predacious fungi.
ジャーナル Curr Biol
Abstract Predator-prey interactions are vital determinants in the natural selection of behavioral traits. Gentle touch to the anterior half of the body of Caenorhabditis elegans elicits an escape response in which the animal quickly reverses and suppresses exploratory head movements [1, 2]. Here, we investigate the ecological significance of the touch response in predator-prey interactions between C. elegans and predacious fungi that catch nematodes using constricting hyphal rings. We show that the constricting rings of Drechslerella doedycoides catch early larval stages with a diameter similar to the trap opening. There is a delay between the ring entry and ring closure, which allows the animal to withdraw from the trap before being caught. Mutants that fail to suppress head movements in response to touch are caught more efficiently than the wild-type. This demonstrates that the coordination of motor programs allows C. elegans to smoothly retract from a fungal noose and evade capture. Our results suggest that selective pressures imposed by predacious fungi have shaped the evolution of C. elegans escape behavior.
巻・号 21(15)
ページ 1326-30
公開日 2011-8-9
DOI 10.1016/j.cub.2011.06.063
PII S0960-9822(11)00769-X
PMID 21802299
PMC PMC3266163
MeSH Animals Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics Caenorhabditis elegans / microbiology Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology* Fungi / physiology* Mutation
IF 9.601
引用数 29
WOS 分野 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY CELL BIOLOGY
リソース情報
線虫 tm2913