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bioRxiv · 10.1101/508986

Differential regulation of native and learned behavior by creb1/crh-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans

Dahiya, Y.·Rose, S.·Thapliyal, S.·Bhardwaj, S.·Prasad, M.·Babu, K.
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Abstract

1.Memory formation is crucial for the survival of animals. Here, we study the effect of different crh-1 (C. elegans homolog of mammalian CREB1) mutations on the ability of C. elegans to form long-term memory (LTM). Null mutants in creb1/crh-1 are defective in LTM formation across phyla. We show that specific isoforms of CREB1/CRH-1, CRH-1c and CRH-1e, are primarily responsible for memory related functions of the transcription factor in C. elegans. Silencing of CRH-1e expressing neurons during training for LTM formation abolishes the long-term memory of the animal. Further, CRH-1e expression in RIM or AVE neurons is sufficient to rescue long-term memory defects of creb1/crh-1 null mutants. We show that apart from being LTM defective, creb1/crh-1 null mutant animals show defects in native chemotaxis behavior. We characterize the amino acids K247 and K266 as responsible for the LTM related functions of CRH-1 while being dispensable for its native chemotaxis behavior. These findings provide insight into the spatial and temporal workings of a crucial transcription factor and can be further exploited to find CREB1 targets involved in the process of memory formation.

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Dahiya, Y., Rose, S., Thapliyal, S., Bhardwaj, S., Prasad, M., Babu, K.. 2019-01-02. Differential regulation of native and learned behavior by creb1/crh-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans. https://doi.org/10.1101/508986

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