The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Role of a FMRFamide-like family of neuropeptides in the pharyngeal nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans

Role of a FMRFamide-like family of neuropeptides in the pharyngeal nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans
Role of a FMRFamide-like family of neuropeptides in the pharyngeal nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans
The nervous system of C. elegans has a remarkable abundance of flp genes encoding FMRFamide-like (FLP) neuropeptides. To provide insight into the physiological relevance of this neuropeptide diversity, we have tested more than 30 FLPs (encoded by 23 flps) for bioactivity on C. elegans pharynx. Eleven flp genes encode peptides that inhibit pharyngeal activity, while eight flp genes encode peptides that are excitatory. Three potent peptides (inhibitory, FLP-13A, APEASPFIRFamide; excitatory, FLP-17A, KSAFVRFamide; excitatory, FLP-17B, KSQYIRFamide) are encoded by flp genes, which, according to reporter gene constructs, are expressed in pharyngeal motoneurons. Thus, they may act through receptors localized on the pharyngeal muscle. The two other potent peptides, FLP-8 (excitatory AF1, KNEFIRFamide,) and FLP-11A (inhibitory, AMRNALVRFamide), appear to be expressed in extrapharyngeal neurons and are therefore likely to act either indirectly or as neurohormones. Intriguingly, a single neuron can express peptides that have potent but opposing biological activity in the pharynx. Only five flp genes encode neuropeptides that have no observable effect on the pharynx, but none of these have shown reporter gene expression in the pharyngeal nervous system. To examine the roles of multiple peptides produced from single precursors, a comparison was made between the bioactivity of different neuropeptides for five flp genes (flp-3, flp-13, flp-14, flp-17, and flp-18). For all but one gene (flp-14), the effects of peptides encoded by the same gene were similar. Overall, this study demonstrates the impressive neurochemical complexity of the simple circuit that regulates feeding in the nematode, C. elegans. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol, 2005
nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, pharynx, neuropeptides, RFamide
0022-3034
304-319
Papaioannou, Sylvana
f125366e-9363-49ac-ab2d-87377e82d09a
Marsden, David
18ea64e4-9ba5-4f57-b19d-f874589279b6
Franks, Christopher J.
9842534b-4d3f-4ee8-a07e-3b050f748593
Walker, Robert J.
9368ac2d-f1e9-4bd9-a4b4-4a161c4aa140
Holden-Dye, Lindy
8032bf60-5db6-40cb-b71c-ddda9d212c8e
Papaioannou, Sylvana
f125366e-9363-49ac-ab2d-87377e82d09a
Marsden, David
18ea64e4-9ba5-4f57-b19d-f874589279b6
Franks, Christopher J.
9842534b-4d3f-4ee8-a07e-3b050f748593
Walker, Robert J.
9368ac2d-f1e9-4bd9-a4b4-4a161c4aa140
Holden-Dye, Lindy
8032bf60-5db6-40cb-b71c-ddda9d212c8e

Papaioannou, Sylvana, Marsden, David, Franks, Christopher J., Walker, Robert J. and Holden-Dye, Lindy (2005) Role of a FMRFamide-like family of neuropeptides in the pharyngeal nervous system of Caenorhabditis elegans. Journal of Neurobiology, 65 (3), 304-319. (doi:10.1002/neu.20201).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The nervous system of C. elegans has a remarkable abundance of flp genes encoding FMRFamide-like (FLP) neuropeptides. To provide insight into the physiological relevance of this neuropeptide diversity, we have tested more than 30 FLPs (encoded by 23 flps) for bioactivity on C. elegans pharynx. Eleven flp genes encode peptides that inhibit pharyngeal activity, while eight flp genes encode peptides that are excitatory. Three potent peptides (inhibitory, FLP-13A, APEASPFIRFamide; excitatory, FLP-17A, KSAFVRFamide; excitatory, FLP-17B, KSQYIRFamide) are encoded by flp genes, which, according to reporter gene constructs, are expressed in pharyngeal motoneurons. Thus, they may act through receptors localized on the pharyngeal muscle. The two other potent peptides, FLP-8 (excitatory AF1, KNEFIRFamide,) and FLP-11A (inhibitory, AMRNALVRFamide), appear to be expressed in extrapharyngeal neurons and are therefore likely to act either indirectly or as neurohormones. Intriguingly, a single neuron can express peptides that have potent but opposing biological activity in the pharynx. Only five flp genes encode neuropeptides that have no observable effect on the pharynx, but none of these have shown reporter gene expression in the pharyngeal nervous system. To examine the roles of multiple peptides produced from single precursors, a comparison was made between the bioactivity of different neuropeptides for five flp genes (flp-3, flp-13, flp-14, flp-17, and flp-18). For all but one gene (flp-14), the effects of peptides encoded by the same gene were similar. Overall, this study demonstrates the impressive neurochemical complexity of the simple circuit that regulates feeding in the nematode, C. elegans. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Neurobiol, 2005

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: December 2005
Keywords: nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, pharynx, neuropeptides, RFamide

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 56127
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/56127
ISSN: 0022-3034
PURE UUID: 427e2813-95c5-49c6-ade5-a433e345d838
ORCID for Christopher J. Franks: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5412-7037
ORCID for Robert J. Walker: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9031-7671
ORCID for Lindy Holden-Dye: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9704-1217

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 07 Aug 2008
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:37

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Sylvana Papaioannou
Author: David Marsden

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×