RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Two Neuronal G Proteins are Involved in Chemosensation of the Caenorhabditis elegans Dauer-Inducing Pheromone JF Genetics JO Genetics FD Genetics Society of America SP 715 OP 727 VO 145 IS 3 A1 Zwaal, Richard R. A1 Mendel, Jane E. A1 Sternberg, Paul W. A1 Plasterk, Ronald H. A. YR 1997 UL http://www.genetics.org/content/145/3/715.abstract AB 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.