PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Cynthia M. Chai
AU  - Mahdi Torkashvand
AU  - Maedeh Seyedolmohadesin
AU  - Heenam Park
AU  - Vivek Venkatachalam
AU  - Paul W. Sternberg
TI  - Interneuron Control of <em>C. elegans</em> Developmental Decision-making
AID  - 10.1101/2021.11.07.467589
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.11.07.467589
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/08/2021.11.07.467589.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/11/08/2021.11.07.467589.full
AB  - Animals integrate external stimuli to shape their physiological responses throughout development. In adverse environments, Caenorhabditis elegans larvae can enter a stress-resistant diapause state with arrested metabolism and reproductive physiology. Amphid sensory neurons feed into both rapid chemotactic and shortterm foraging mode decisions, mediated by amphid and pre-motor interneurons, as well as the long-term diapause decision. We identify amphid interneurons that integrate pheromone cues and propagate this information via a neuropeptidergic pathways to influence larval developmental fate, bypassing the pre-motor system. AIA interneuron-derived FLP-2 neuropeptide signaling promotes reproductive growth and AIA activity is suppressed by pheromone. FLP-2 acts antagonistically to the insulin-like INS-1. FLP-2’s growth promoting effects are inhibited by upstream metabotropic glutamatergic signaling and mediated by the broadly-expressed neuropeptide receptor NPR-30. Conversely, the AIB interneurons and their neuropeptide receptor NPR-9/GALR2 promote diapause entry. These neuropeptidergic outputs allow reuse of parts of a sensory system for a decision with a distinct timescale.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.