PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Vladyslava Pechuk
AU  - Yehuda Salzberg
AU  - Gal Goldman
AU  - Aditi H. Chaubey
AU  - R. Aaron Bola
AU  - Jonathon R. Hoffman
AU  - Morgan L. Endreson
AU  - Renee M. Miller
AU  - Noah J. Reger
AU  - Douglas S. Portman
AU  - Denise M. Ferkey
AU  - Elad Schneidman
AU  - Meital Oren-Suissa
TI  - Sex-specific topology of the nociceptive circuit shapes dimorphic behavior in <em>C. elegans</em>
AID  - 10.1101/2021.12.14.472335
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.12.14.472335
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/12/15/2021.12.14.472335.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/12/15/2021.12.14.472335.full
AB  - How sexually dimorphic behavior is encoded in the nervous system is poorly understood. Here, we characterize the dimorphic nociceptive behavior in C. elegans and study the underlying circuits, which are composed of the same neurons but are wired differently. We show that while sensory transduction is similar in the two sexes, the downstream network topology markedly shapes behavior. We fit a network model that replicates the observed dimorphic behavior in response to external stimuli, and use it to predict simple network rewirings that would switch the behavior between the sexes. We then show experimentally that these subtle synaptic rewirings indeed flip behavior. Strikingly, when presented with aversive cues, rewired males were compromised in finding mating partners, suggesting that network topologies that enable efficient avoidance of noxious cues have a reproductive “cost”. Our results present a deconstruction of the design of a neural circuit that controls sexual behavior, and how to reprogram it.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.