Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans
Dopamine is an important neuromodulator in both vertebrates and invertebrates. We have found that reduced dopamine signaling can cause a distinct abnormality in the behavior of the nematode C. elegans, which has only eight dopaminergic neurons. Using an automated particle-tracking system for the ana...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Public Library of Science
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72427 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9964-9613 |
| _version_ | 1811096421533745152 |
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| author | Omura, Daniel T. Clark, Damon A. Samuel, Aravinthan D. T. Horvitz, Howard Robert |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology Omura, Daniel T. Clark, Damon A. Samuel, Aravinthan D. T. Horvitz, Howard Robert |
| author_sort | Omura, Daniel T. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Dopamine is an important neuromodulator in both vertebrates and invertebrates. We have found that reduced dopamine signaling can cause a distinct abnormality in the behavior of the nematode C. elegans, which has only eight dopaminergic neurons. Using an automated particle-tracking system for the analysis of C. elegans locomotion, we observed that individual wild-type animals made small adjustments to their speed to maintain constant rates of locomotion. By contrast, individual mutant animals defective in the synthesis of dopamine made larger adjustments to their speeds, resulting in large fluctuations in their rates of locomotion. Mutants defective in dopamine signaling also frequently exhibited both abnormally high and abnormally low average speeds. The ability to make small adjustments to speed was restored to these mutants by treatment with dopamine. These behaviors depended on the D2-like dopamine receptor DOP-3 and the G-protein subunit GOA-1. We suggest that C. elegans and other animals, including humans, might share mechanisms by which dopamine restricts motor activity levels and coordinates movement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:43:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/72427 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:43:29Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/724272022-10-03T07:49:09Z Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans Omura, Daniel T. Clark, Damon A. Samuel, Aravinthan D. T. Horvitz, Howard Robert Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Biology McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT Horvitz, Howard Robert Omura, Daniel T. Horvitz, H. Robert Dopamine is an important neuromodulator in both vertebrates and invertebrates. We have found that reduced dopamine signaling can cause a distinct abnormality in the behavior of the nematode C. elegans, which has only eight dopaminergic neurons. Using an automated particle-tracking system for the analysis of C. elegans locomotion, we observed that individual wild-type animals made small adjustments to their speed to maintain constant rates of locomotion. By contrast, individual mutant animals defective in the synthesis of dopamine made larger adjustments to their speeds, resulting in large fluctuations in their rates of locomotion. Mutants defective in dopamine signaling also frequently exhibited both abnormally high and abnormally low average speeds. The ability to make small adjustments to speed was restored to these mutants by treatment with dopamine. These behaviors depended on the D2-like dopamine receptor DOP-3 and the G-protein subunit GOA-1. We suggest that C. elegans and other animals, including humans, might share mechanisms by which dopamine restricts motor activity levels and coordinates movement. National Science Foundation (U.S.). National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant number GM24663) 2012-08-29T17:35:19Z 2012-08-29T17:35:19Z 2012-06 2011-09 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 1932-6203 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72427 Omura, Daniel T. et al. “Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. Elegans.” Ed. Anne C. Hart. PLoS ONE 7.6 (2012): e38649. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9964-9613 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038649 PLoS ONE Creative Commons Attribution http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ application/pdf Public Library of Science PLoS |
| spellingShingle | Omura, Daniel T. Clark, Damon A. Samuel, Aravinthan D. T. Horvitz, Howard Robert Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans |
| title | Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans |
| title_full | Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans |
| title_fullStr | Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans |
| title_short | Dopamine Signaling Is Essential for Precise Rates of Locomotion by C. elegans |
| title_sort | dopamine signaling is essential for precise rates of locomotion by c elegans |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/72427 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9964-9613 |
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