Abstract
Orcokinin neuropeptides are conserved among ecdysozoans, but their functions are incompletely understood. Here, we report a role for orcokinin neuropeptides in the regulation of sleep in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The C. elegans orcokinin peptides, which are encoded by the nlp-14 and nlp-15 genes, are necessary and sufficient for quiescent behaviors during developmentally timed sleep (DTS) as well as during stress-induced sleep (SIS). The five orcokinin neuropeptides encoded by nlp-14 have distinct but overlapping functions in the regulation of movement and defecation quiescence during SIS. We suggest that orcokinins may regulate behavioral components of sleep-like states in nematodes and other ecdysozoans.
Keywords:
C. elegans; nlp-14; nlp-15; orcokinin; sleep.
Publication types
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Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Animals
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Animals, Genetically Modified
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Arthropods / physiology
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CRISPR-Cas Systems
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Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
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Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology*
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / physiology*
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Conserved Sequence
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Defecation / physiology
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Gene Editing
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Genes, Helminth
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Hot Temperature
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Loss of Function Mutation
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Motor Activity
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Neurons / metabolism
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Neuropeptides / genetics
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Neuropeptides / physiology*
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Sequence Alignment
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Sleep / genetics
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Sleep / physiology*
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Species Specificity
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Stress, Physiological / physiology
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Transgenes
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Up-Regulation
Substances
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Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
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Neuropeptides
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orcokinin