PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stephan Raiders
AU  - Erik Calvin Black
AU  - Andrea Bae
AU  - Stephen MacFarlane
AU  - Shai Shaham
AU  - Aakanksha Singhvi
TI  - Glia actively sculpt sensory neurons by controlled phagocytosis to tune animal behavior
AID  - 10.1101/2020.11.11.378893
DP  - 2020 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2020.11.11.378893
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/12/2020.11.11.378893.1.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/11/12/2020.11.11.378893.1.full
AB  - Glia in the central nervous system engulf neuron fragments during synapse remodeling and recycling of photoreceptor outer-segments. Whether glia passively clear shed neuronal debris, or actively remove neuron fragments is unknown. How pruning of single-neuron endings impacts animal behavior is also unclear. Here we report that adult C. elegans AMsh glia engulf sensory endings of the AFD thermosensory neuron. Engulfment is regulated by temperature, AFD’s sensory input, and tracks AFD activity. Phosphatidylserine (PS) flippase TAT-1/ATP8A, functions with glial PS-receptor PSR-1/PSR and PAT-2/α-integrin to initiate engulfment. Glial CED-10/Rac1 GTPase, acting through a conserved GEF complex, executes phagocytosis using the actin-remodeler WSP-1/nWASp and the membrane-sealing factor EFF-1 fusogen. CED-10 levels determine engulfment rates, and engulfment-defective mutants exhibit altered AFD-ending shape and thermosensory behavior. Our findings reveal a molecular pathway underpinning glia-dependent phagocytosis in a peripheral sense-organ, and demonstrate that glia actively engulf neuron-fragments, with profound consequences on neuron shape and animal behavior.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.