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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.12.12.628226

Single-Nucleus Neuronal Transcriptional Profiling of Male C. elegans Uncovers Regulators of Sex-Specific and Sex-Shared Behaviors

Morillo, K. S.·St. Ange, J.·Weng, Y.·Kaletsky, R.·Murphy, C.
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Abstract

Sexual differentiation of the nervous system drives profound neurobiological and behavioral differences between the sexes across various organisms, including Caenorhabditis elegans. Using single-nucleus RNA sequencing, we profiled and compared adult male and hermaphrodite C. elegans neurons, generating an atlas of adult male-specific and sex-shared neurons. We expanded the molecular map of male-specific neurons, and identified highly dimorphic expression of GPCRs, neuropeptides, and ion channels. Our data demonstrate sex-shared neurons exhibit substantial heterogeneity between the sexes, while sex-specific neurons repurpose conserved molecular pathways to regulate dimorphic behaviors. We show that the PHD neurons display remarkable similarity to sex-shared AWA neurons, suggesting partial repurposing of conserved pathways, and that they and the GPCR SRT-18 may play a role in pheromone sensing. We further demonstrate that the ubiquitously expressed MAPK phosphatase vhp-1 regulates both sex-specific and sex-shared behaviors. Our data provide a rich resource for discovering sex-specific transcriptomic differences and the molecular basis of sex-specific behaviors.

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Morillo, K. S., St. Ange, J., Weng, Y., Kaletsky, R., Murphy, C.. 2024-12-17. Single-Nucleus Neuronal Transcriptional Profiling of Male C. elegans Uncovers Regulators of Sex-Specific and Sex-Shared Behaviors. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.12.12.628226

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