Genetics, Vol 145, 715-727, Copyright © 1997

INVESTIGATIONS

Two Neuronal G Proteins are Involved in Chemosensation of the Caenorhabditis elegans Dauer-Inducing Pheromone

R. R. Zwaal, J. E. Mendel, P. W. Sternberg and RHA. Plasterk
Present address: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Department of Biochemistry, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75235-9038. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Caenorhabditis elegans uses chemosensation to determine its course of development. Young larvae can arrest as dauer larvae in response to increasing population density, which they measure by a nematode-excreted pheromone, and decreasing food supply. Dauer larvae can resume development in response to a decrease in pheromone and increase in food concentration. We show here that two novel G protein alpha subunits (GPA-2 and GPA-3) show promoter activity in subsets of chemosensory neurons and are involved in the decision to form dauer larvae primarily through the response to dauer pheromone. Dominant activating mutations in these G proteins result in constitutive, pheromone-independent dauer formation, whereas inactivation results in reduced sensitivity to pheromone, and, under certain conditions, an alteration in the response to food. Interactions between gpa-2, gpa-3 and other genes controlling dauer formation suggest that these G proteins may act in parallel to regulate the neuronal decision making that precedes dauer formation.

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