An hourglass circuit motif transforms a motor program via subcellularly localized muscle calcium signaling and contraction
Name
elife-59341-v1.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
43.16 MB
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Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
b52347cf7d0c4799a2bfb2d10767f791
Author(s)
Sando, Steven R
Bhatla, Nikhil
Lee, Eugene LQ
Horvitz, H Robert
Date Issued
July 2021
Journal
eLife
Publisher
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Neural control of muscle function is fundamental to animal behavior. Many muscles can generate multiple distinct behaviors. Nonetheless, individual muscle cells are generally regarded as the smallest units of motor control. We report that muscle cells can alter behavior by contracting subcellularly. We previously discovered that noxious tastes reverse the net flow of particles through the C. elegans pharynx, a neuromuscular pump, resulting in spitting. We now show that spitting results from the subcellular contraction of the anterior region of the pm3 muscle cell. Subcellularly localized calcium increases accompany this contraction. Spitting is controlled by an ‘hourglass’ circuit motif: parallel neural pathways converge onto a single motor neuron that differentially controls multiple muscles and the critical subcellular muscle compartment. We conclude that subcellular muscle units enable modulatory motor control and propose that subcellular muscle contraction is a fundamental mechanism by which neurons can reshape behavior.
MIT Department
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.59341
