Here we describe a molecular readout of long-term olfactory adaptation in Caenorhabditis elegans. The Protein Kinase G, EGL-4, is necessary for stable adaptation responses in the primary sensory neuron pair called AWC. During prolonged odor exposure EGL-4 translocates from the cytosol to nucleus of the AWC.
During sustained stimulation most sensory neurons will adapt their response by decreasing their sensitivity to the signal. The adaptation response helps shape attention and also protects cells from over-stimulation. Adaptation within the olfactory circuit of C. elegans was first described by Colbert and Bargmann1,2. Here, the authors defined parameters of the olfactory adaptation paradigm, which they used to design a genetic screen to isolate mutants defective in their ability to adapt to volatile odors sensed by the Amphid Wing cells type C (AWC) sensory neurons. When wildtype C. elegans animals are exposed to an attractive AWC-sensed odor3 for 30 min they will adapt their responsiveness to the odor and will then ignore the adapting odor in a chemotaxis behavioral assay for ~1 hr. When wildtype C. elegans animals are exposed to an attractive AWC-sensed odor for ~1 hr they will then ignore the adapting odor in a chemotaxis behavioral assay for ~3 hr. These two phases of olfactory adaptation in C. elegans were described as short-term olfactory adaptation (induced after 30 min odor exposure), and long-term olfactory adaptation (induced after 60 min odor exposure). Later work from L’Etoile et al.,4 uncovered a Protein Kinase G (PKG) called EGL-4 that is required for both the short-term and long-term olfactory adaptation in AWC neurons. The EGL-4 protein contains a nuclear localization sequence that is necessary for long-term olfactory adaptation responses but dispensable for short-term olfactory adaptation responses in the AWC4. By tagging EGL-4 with a green fluorescent protein, it was possible to visualize the localization of EGL-4 in the AWC during prolonged odor exposure. Using this fully functional GFP-tagged EGL-4 (GFP::EGL-4) molecule we have been able to develop a molecular readout of long-term olfactory adaptation in the AWC5. Using this molecular readout of olfactory adaptation we have been able to perform both forward and reverse genetic screens to identify mutant animals that exhibit defective subcellular localization patterns of GFP::EGL-4 in the AWC6,7. Here we describe: 1) the construction of GFP::EGL-4 expressing animals; 2) the protocol for cultivation of animals for long-term odor-induced nuclear translocation assays; and 3) the scoring of the long-term odor-induced nuclear translocation event and recovery (re-sensitization) from the nuclear GFP::EGL-4 state.
1. Construction of GFP Tagged EGL-4 Expressing Animals
2. Cultivation and Maintenance of Animals for Nuclear Translocation Assays
3. Long-term Odor Induced Nuclear Translocation Assays
4. Short-term Odor-induced Nuclear Translocation Assays
5. Scoring the Odor-induced Nuclear Translocation Event
6. Monitoring GFP-tagged EGL-4 during the Recovery from Long-term Odor Adaptation
7. Materials
NGM plates: For 1 L add to 1 L ddH20: 21 g Bacto-Agar; 3 g Sodium Chloride (NaCl); 2.5 g Bacto-Peptone. Autoclave Media. After autoclaving, cool the agar until the temperature reads 54 °C. Add the following solutions: 25 ml 1M Potassium Phosphate Buffer; 1 ml 1 M Magnesium Sulfate (MgSO4); 1 ml 1 M Calcium Chloride (CaCl2); 1 ml Cholesterol in Ethanol (5 mg/ml stock).
1 M Dibasic K2HPO4 174.2 g/mol: For 500 ml: In 400 ml ddH2O, dissolve 87.1 g Dibasic K2HPO4. Adjust volume to 500 L with ddH2O. Filter sterilize using a 500 ml Sterile Filter Unit.
1 M Monobasic KH2PO4 136.1 g/mol: For 1 L: In 800 ml ddH2O, dissolve 136.1 g Monobasic KH2PO4. Adjust volume to 1 L with ddH2O. Filter sterilize using a 500 ml Sterile Filter Unit.
1 M Potassium Phosphate (K3PO4) Buffer pH 6.0: For 1 L: In a 1 L Sterile Filter Unit, add 868 ml of 1 M Monobasic KH2PO4. Allow unit to filter through, then add 132 ml of 1 M Dibasic K2HPO4. Allow unit to filter all the liquid. Remove filter unit and adjust pH to 6.0. Store at room temperature.
S-Basal: For 1 L: add 50 ml 1M K3PO4 Buffer, pH ~6.0; and 20 ml 5M NaClaq. Fill to 1 L with ddH2O. Autoclave Solution.
M9: For 1 L: 3 g KH2PO4, 6 g Na2HPO4, 5 g NaCl, 1 ml 1 M MgSO4, H2O. Fill to 1 L with ddH20. Sterilize by autoclaving.
An example of the localization pattern of GFP::EGL-4in the AWC before and after prolonged odor exposure is shown in Figure 2. Prior to prolonged odor exposure, GFP::EGL-4 is localized to the cytosol of the AWC (Figure 2B), and after 80 min odor exposure GFP::EGL-4 is localized to the nucleus of the AWC (Figure 2D). At the behavioral level, animals with cytosolic GFP::EGL-4 in AWC are attracted to a point source of odor (Figure 2C graphs representative results from chemotaxis assays of unadapted animals – note the chemotaxis index3 is close to 1). Animals exhibiting nuclear GFP::EGL-4 in the AWC are not attracted to a point source of the adapting odor (Figure 2E graphs representative results from chemotaxis assays of adapted animals – note the chemotaxis index is close to zero). To generate statistically significant data from odor-induced nuclear translocation assays, the experiments should be run at least 3 times and on separate days. For a detailed description of the chemotaxis assay it may be useful to refer to JoVE article 249014.
Once EGL-4 enters the nucleus of the AWC neurons it causes stable and long-lasting changes in the AWC physiology that persist even when EGL-4 is no longer in the nucleus (Figure 3). After 80 min odor exposure animals will ignore a point source of the adapting odor (Figure 3 upper panel, light bar on left), and this adaptation will persist even after 120 min of recovery (Figure 3 upper panel, light bar on right). After 80 min of odor exposure GFP:EGL-4 is observed in the nucleus of the AWC (Figure 3 lower panel, light bar on left). This nuclear entry is both necessary and sufficient to induce long-term adaptation in the AWC5. After 120 min recovery, these animals no longer exhibit nuclear GFP::EGL-4 (Figure 3 lower panel, light bar on right) yet will still ignore a point source of the adapting odor benzaldehyde at the behavioral level.
Figure 1. Overview of protocol for long-term odor-induced nuclear translocation assays. Firstly, animals expressing GFP::EGL-4 (pyIs500 animals) are cultivated at 25 °C on NGM plates seeded with OP50 E. coli. Secondly, animals are exposed to an odor adaptation mix (experimental group) or S-Basal buffer (control group). Thirdly, animals are scored blindly by counting the number of animals exhibiting nuclear GFP::EGL-4 in the AWC and the number of animals exhibiting cytoplasmic GFP::EGL-4 in the AWC.
Figure 2. An example of the localization pattern of GFP::EGL-4 in the AWC before and after prolonged odor exposure is shown. (A) Confocal image of the AWC neuron expressing soluble GFP. (B) Confocal image of a naïve (unexposed) animal exhibiting GFP::EGL-4 throughout the cytosol of the AWC neuron. (C) Unadapted animals exhibit a high chemotaxis index close to 1 when behaviorally assayed to a point source of odor. (D) Confocal image of an animal exposed to odor for 80 min exhibiting GFP::EGL-4 in the nucleus of the AWC. (E) Animals that exhibit nuclear GFP::EGL-4 exhibit a chemotaxis index close to zero (normally ~0.2) when behaviorally assayed to the adapting AWC odor. This figure is modified with permission from O’Halloran et al.6 Figure 2B. Prior to prolonged odor exposure, GFP::EGL-4 is localized to the cytosol of the AWC. Figure 2C. At the behavioral level, animals with cytosolic GFP::EGL-4 in AWC are attracted to a point source of odor. This graph was generated from representative results from chemotaxis assays of unadapted animals. Note the chemotaxis index is close to 1. Figure 2D. After 80 min odor exposure GFP::EGL-4 is localized to the nucleus of the AWC. Figure 2E. Animals exhibiting nuclear GFP::EGL-4 in the AWC are not attracted to a point source of the adapting odor. This graph was generated from representative results from chemotaxis assays of adapted animals. Note the chemotaxis index is close to zero.
Figure 3. Once EGL-4 enters the nucleus of the AWC neurons it causes stable and long-lasting changes in the AWC physiology that persist even when EGL-4 is no longer in the nucleus. Animals exposed to odor (80 min) are allowed to recover from the long-term odor exposure and scored for cytoplasmic versus nuclear localization of GFP::EGL-4. (Upper Panel) After 120 min recovery the animals that were exposed to odor for 80 min are still adapted at the behavioral level. (Lower Panel) After 120 min recovery animals that were exposed to odor for 80 min no longer exhibit nuclear GFP::EGL-4. Thus, nuclear EGL-4 invokes stable long-lasting changes in the physiology of the AWC that persist after EGL-4 is no longer in the nucleus. Figure is modified with permission from Lee et al.5. Figure 3 upper panel. After 80 min odor exposure animals will ignore a point source of the adapting odor, and this adaptation will persist even after 120 min of recovery. Figure 3 lower panel. After 80 min of odor exposure GFP::EGL-4 is observed in the nucleus of the AWC. This nuclear entry is both necessary and sufficient to induce long-term adaptation in the AWC. After 120 min recovery, these animals no longer exhibit nuclear GFP::EGL-4 yet will still ignore a point source of the adapting odor benzaldehyde at the behavioral level.
The odor-induced nuclear entry of a GFP-tagged EGL-4 molecule described here provides a robust molecular readout of olfactory adaptation in C. elegans. The odor-induced nuclear translocation assays are straightforward and require only a few days of preparation time. The pyIs500 animal that we have constructed for these assays, expresses a marker that illuminates the AWC neuron as well as expressing the GFP-tagged EGL-4 protein. Thus, we feel that an experimenter with little to no experience working with this class of neuron can very rapidly (perhaps after examining a few dozen animals) begin to feel comfortable identifying the correct cell and scoring for nuclear versus cytoplasmic EGL-4. It may be useful for the reader to refer to JoVE article 835 that describes GFP analysis in C. elegans15.
To ensure that the data generated is of the highest quality we suggest the following guidelines: 1) all scoring should be done blindly; 2) cultivation plates containing ANY trace of contamination (fungal or bacterial) cannot be used; 3) worms that experienced starvation during cultivation should never be used; and 4) adaptation mixes must be made fresh on the day of experimentation.
All sensory systems exhibit examples of neuronal plasticity. The transmission of signals to the nucleus is a highly conserved feature of stable forms of neuronal plasticity16. By developing a molecular readout of olfactory plasticity that represents a nuclear translocation of a PKG in stimulated neurons, we provide a platform for rapid and detailed dissection of neuronal plasticity within an in vivo model. Using our molecular readout of olfactory adaptation we have begun to describe some of the events that shape olfactory adaptation in C. elegans5,6,7. However, this is just a beginning, and by studying this process as a function of age, sex, infection, or diet we may uncover important themes of neuronal plasticity at the circuit and systems level.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
We would like to thank Scott Hamilton, and members of the O’Halloran lab for careful reading of this manuscript. We also thank our anonymous reviewer for excellent suggestions and insightful comments.
Name of the reagent | Company | Catalogue number | コメント |
Bacto Agar | Difco | DF0140-07-4 | NGM plates |
Sodium Chloride | Fisher Chemical | S671-10 | NGM plates |
Bacto Peptone | Difco | DF0118-07-2 | NGM plates |
Potassium Phosphate Dibasic | Fisher Chemical | S375-500 | S-Basal buffer and NGM plates |
Potassium Phosphate Monobasic | Fisher Chemical | P285-500 | S-Basal buffer and NGM plates |
Kimwipes – Small | Kimberly-Clark | LS2770 | |
Ethanol 100% | Gold Shield Chemical Co. | 43196-115 | diluting odors for chemotaxis assays |
Calcium Chloride | Sigma-Aldrich | C8106-500G | NGM plates |
Magnesium Sulphate | MP Biomedicals | 150136-500G | NGM plates |
Sodium Azide 99% | Fisher Scientific | ICN10289180 | Anesthetic |
Agarose – UltraPure | Invitrogen | 16500-500 | Agarose pads |
Benzaldehyde | Sigma-Aldrich | B1334-100G | AWC odor |
Butanone, ACS Grade | Sigma-Aldrich | 360473-500ML | AWC odor |
Microcentrifuge Tubes – 1.5 ml Colored | Denville | LS8147 | |
Pasteur Pipet Disposable Glass 5-3/4″ | Fisher Scientific | 13-678-20B | |
Stratalinker | Stratagene | Stratalinker 2400 | UV integration |
Filter Vacuum Bottle – 500 ml | Nalgene | 09-740-25B |