Roles of the ClC chloride channel CLH-1 in food-associated salt chemotaxis behavior of C. elegans

Elife. 2021 Jan 25:10:e55701. doi: 10.7554/eLife.55701.

Abstract

The ability of animals to process dynamic sensory information facilitates foraging in an ever-changing environment. However, molecular and neural mechanisms underlying such ability remain elusive. The ClC anion channels/transporters play a pivotal role in cellular ion homeostasis across all phyla. Here, we find a ClC chloride channel is involved in salt concentration chemotaxis of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetic screening identified two altered-function mutations of clh-1 that disrupt experience-dependent salt chemotaxis. Using genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, we demonstrate that CLH-1 contributes to regulation of intracellular anion and calcium dynamics of salt-sensing neuron, ASER. The mutant CLH-1 reduced responsiveness of ASER to salt stimuli in terms of both temporal resolution and intensity, which disrupted navigation strategies for approaching preferred salt concentrations. Furthermore, other ClC genes appeared to act redundantly in salt chemotaxis. These findings provide insights into the regulatory mechanism of neuronal responsivity by ClCs that contribute to modulation of navigation behavior.

Keywords: C. elegans; adaptive behavior; chemotaxis; chloride channel; genetics; genomics; neuroscience; sensory processing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / genetics
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / genetics*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / metabolism
  • Chemotaxis / genetics*
  • Chloride Channels / genetics*
  • Chloride Channels / metabolism
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Signal Transduction
  • Sodium Chloride / metabolism*

Substances

  • Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins
  • Chloride Channels
  • clh-1 protein, C elegans
  • Sodium Chloride

Associated data

  • Dryad/10.5061/dryad.4tmpg4f8c

Grants and funding

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.