Molina-García, L;
Lloret-Fernández, C;
Cook, SJ;
Kim, B;
Bonnington, RC;
Sammut, M;
O'Shea, JM;
... Poole, RJ; + view all
(2020)
Direct glia-to-neuron transdifferentiation gives rise to a pair of male-specific neurons that ensure nimble male mating.
eLife
, 9
, Article e48361. 10.7554/eLife.48361.
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Abstract
Sexually dimorphic behaviours require underlying differences in the nervous system between males and females. The extent to which nervous systems are sexually dimorphic and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate these differences are only beginning to be understood. We reveal here a novel mechanism by which male-specific neurons are generated in Caenorhabditis elegans through the direct transdifferentiation of sex-shared glial cells. This glia-to-neuron cell fate switch occurs during male sexual maturation under the cell-autonomous control of the sex-determination pathway. We show that the neurons generated are cholinergic, peptidergic, and ciliated putative proprioceptors which integrate into male-specific circuits for copulation. These neurons ensure coordinated backward movement along the mate’s body during mating. One step of the mating sequence regulated by these neurons is an alternative readjustment movement performed when intromission becomes difficult to achieve. Our findings reveal programmed transdifferentiation as a developmental mechanism underlying flexibility in innate behaviour.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Direct glia-to-neuron transdifferentiation gives rise to a pair of male-specific neurons that ensure nimble male mating |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.7554/eLife.48361 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.48361 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © 2020, Molina-García et al. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Cell and Developmental Biology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10114609 |
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