Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans
Caenorhabditis elegans produces ascaroside pheromones to control its development and behavior. Even minor structural differences in the ascarosides have dramatic consequences for their biological activities. Here, we identify a mechanism that enables C. elegans to dynamically tailor the fatty-acid s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2018-06-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/33286 |
| _version_ | 1818019488699777024 |
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| author | Yue Zhou Yuting Wang Xinxing Zhang Subhradeep Bhar Rachel A Jones Lipinski Jungsoo Han Likui Feng Rebecca A Butcher |
| author_facet | Yue Zhou Yuting Wang Xinxing Zhang Subhradeep Bhar Rachel A Jones Lipinski Jungsoo Han Likui Feng Rebecca A Butcher |
| author_sort | Yue Zhou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Caenorhabditis elegans produces ascaroside pheromones to control its development and behavior. Even minor structural differences in the ascarosides have dramatic consequences for their biological activities. Here, we identify a mechanism that enables C. elegans to dynamically tailor the fatty-acid side chains of the indole-3-carbonyl (IC)-modified ascarosides it has produced. In response to starvation, C. elegans uses the peroxisomal acyl-CoA synthetase ACS-7 to activate the side chains of medium-chain IC-ascarosides for β-oxidation involving the acyl-CoA oxidases ACOX-1.1 and ACOX-3. This pathway rapidly converts a favorable ascaroside pheromone that induces aggregation to an unfavorable one that induces the stress-resistant dauer larval stage. Thus, the pathway allows the worm to respond to changing environmental conditions and alter its chemical message without having to synthesize new ascarosides de novo. We establish a new model for biosynthesis of the IC-ascarosides in which side-chain β-oxidation is critical for controlling the type of IC-ascarosides produced. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:53:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acf6ca6432ea4adb932ae7285af1b13d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:53:10Z |
| publishDate | 2018-06-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-acf6ca6432ea4adb932ae7285af1b13d2022-12-22T02:05:09ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2018-06-01710.7554/eLife.33286Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegansYue Zhou0Yuting Wang1Xinxing Zhang2Subhradeep Bhar3Rachel A Jones Lipinski4Jungsoo Han5Likui Feng6Rebecca A Butcher7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0925-4459Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesDepartment of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, United StatesCaenorhabditis elegans produces ascaroside pheromones to control its development and behavior. Even minor structural differences in the ascarosides have dramatic consequences for their biological activities. Here, we identify a mechanism that enables C. elegans to dynamically tailor the fatty-acid side chains of the indole-3-carbonyl (IC)-modified ascarosides it has produced. In response to starvation, C. elegans uses the peroxisomal acyl-CoA synthetase ACS-7 to activate the side chains of medium-chain IC-ascarosides for β-oxidation involving the acyl-CoA oxidases ACOX-1.1 and ACOX-3. This pathway rapidly converts a favorable ascaroside pheromone that induces aggregation to an unfavorable one that induces the stress-resistant dauer larval stage. Thus, the pathway allows the worm to respond to changing environmental conditions and alter its chemical message without having to synthesize new ascarosides de novo. We establish a new model for biosynthesis of the IC-ascarosides in which side-chain β-oxidation is critical for controlling the type of IC-ascarosides produced.https://elifesciences.org/articles/33286ascarosidesdauer pheromonebeta-oxidationacyl-CoA synthetaseacyl-CoA oxidaseperoxisome |
| spellingShingle | Yue Zhou Yuting Wang Xinxing Zhang Subhradeep Bhar Rachel A Jones Lipinski Jungsoo Han Likui Feng Rebecca A Butcher Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans eLife ascarosides dauer pheromone beta-oxidation acyl-CoA synthetase acyl-CoA oxidase peroxisome |
| title | Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans |
| title_full | Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans |
| title_fullStr | Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans |
| title_short | Biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in C. elegans |
| title_sort | biosynthetic tailoring of existing ascaroside pheromones alters their biological function in c elegans |
| topic | ascarosides dauer pheromone beta-oxidation acyl-CoA synthetase acyl-CoA oxidase peroxisome |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/33286 |
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