Serotonin Drives Predatory Feeding Behavior via Synchronous ...

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G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics Early Online, published on September 13, 2017 as doi:10.1534/g3.117.300263

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Title

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Serotonin drives predatory feeding behavior via synchronous feeding rhythms in

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the nematode Pristionchus pacificus

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Authors

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Misako Okumura*, 2, Martin Wilecki* and Ralf J. Sommer*,1

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*

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Biology, 72076, Tuebingen, Baden-Wuerttemburg, Germany, 2Present address: Cell

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biology Laboratory, Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science,

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Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Department for Evolutionary

Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, 739-8526, Japan.

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Reference numbers: 35

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Short running title

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Serotonin regulates worm predation

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© The Author(s) 2013. Published by the Genetics Society of America.

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Keywords

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Predatory feeding behavior, Serotonin, tph-1, bas-1, Pristionchus pacificus

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Corresponding author

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Ralf J. Sommer, 1Max-Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Department for

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Evolutionary

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[email protected], +49-7071-601-371

Biology,

Spemannstrasse

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2

37,

72076,

Tuebingen,

Germany,

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Abstract

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Feeding behaviors in a wide range of animals are regulated by the neurotransmitter

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serotonin, although the exact neural circuits and associated mechanism are often

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unknown. The nematode Pristionchus pacificus can kill other nematodes by opening

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prey cuticles with movable teeth. Previous studies showed that exogenous serotonin

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treatment induces a predatory-like tooth movement and slower pharyngeal pumping in

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the absence of prey, however, physiological functions of serotonin during predation and

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other behaviors in P. pacificus remained completely unknown. Here, we investigate the

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roles of serotonin by generating mutations in Ppa-tph-1 and Ppa-bas-1, two key

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serotonin biosynthesis enzymes and by genetic ablation of pharynx-associated

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serotonergic neurons. Mutations in Ppa-tph-1 reduced the pharyngeal pumping rate

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during bacterial feeding compared to wild type. Moreover, the loss of serotonin or a

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subset of serotonergic neurons decreased the success of predation, but did not abolish

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the predatory feeding behavior completely. Detailed analysis using high-speed camera

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revealed that the elimination of serotonin or the serotonergic neurons disrupted the

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timing and coordination of predatory tooth movement and pharyngeal pumping. This

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loss of synchrony significantly reduced the efficiency of successful predation events.

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These results suggest that serotonin has a conserved role in bacterial feeding and in

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addition drives the feeding rhythm of predatory behavior in Pristionchus.

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Introduction

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Animals utilize diverse food sources and exhibit many different feeding behaviors

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depending on their ecology and physiology. In nematodes for example, their extreme

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habitat diversity is reflected by a range of different feeding adaptations and food sources

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including bacteria, fungi, protists and plant roots (Yeates et al. 1993). While the neural

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mechanisms

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Caenorhabditis elegans (Avery 2012), the neural regulation of the feeding behaviors

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utilized by other diverse nematodes are unknown. One of the most striking examples of

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nematode behaviors is predatory feeding in which certain nematode species, such as

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Pristionchus pacificus, can use other nematodes as prey (Bento et al., 2010). Studying

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the different feeding strategies of these two species can therefore provide insights into

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the evolution of the neural mechanisms associated with feeding type switches and

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predation.

regulating

bacterial

feeding

have

been

studied

intensively

in

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P. pacificus has been established as a satellite model organism for comparison

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with C. elegans and for integrative studies in evolutionary biology (Sommer et al.,

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1996; Sommer, 2015). Various genomic tools are available, such as an annotated

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genome, genetic transformation and reverse genetics through CRISPR/Cas9 engineering

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(Dieterich et al. 2008; Schlager et al. 2009; Witte et al. 2015). In its natural

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environment, P. pacificus often occurs in a necromenic association with scarab beetles,

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that is, arrested, long-lived dauer larvae stay on a beetle and after the beetle’s death, the

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worms exit the dauer stage and flourish on the carcass (Herrmann et al. 2007; Meyer et

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al. 2017).

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Predatory feeding in P. pacificus is dependent on the presence of teeth-like

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denticles, which are capable of rupturing the cuticle of the prey. Interestingly, P.

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pacificus displays a mouth-form dimorphism, which is influenced by environmental

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factors (Bento et al. 2010; Ragsdale et al. 2013). The eurystomatous (Eu) mouth form is

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characterized by i) a wide mouth opening, ii) a large, claw-like dorsal tooth, and iii) a

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hook-shaped subventral tooth, which together enable predatory feeding (Figure 1A and

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1B). In contrast, the stenostomatous (St) form has a narrow mouth opening and a single

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flint-shaped dorsal tooth, which only allows bacterial feeding and scavenging, but not

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predation (Figure 1C and 1D). In this study, we focus on the predatory feeding behavior

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of the Eu form to gain insight into the neural regulation of predation.

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Previous work identified a feeding mode switch between bacterial feeding and

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predation in P. pacificus. During predation, the rate of pharyngeal muscle contractions

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termed pumping was reduced by half when compared with bacterial feeding, and

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additionally tooth movement was stimulated (Wilecki et al. 2015). Predatory-like

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feeding rhythms were also triggered by exogenous serotonin treatment but not by other

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monoamine neurotransmitters (Wilecki et al. 2015). However, the cellular and

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mechanistic function of serotonin during feeding behaviors in P. pacificus remains

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unknown. Among many animal taxa, pharmacological and genetic studies have shown

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that serotonin regulates feeding behavior (Gillette 2006). In C. elegans, serotonin is

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synthesized from tryptophan by two conserved enzymes called tryptophan hydroxylase

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(TPH-1) and 5HTP/L-dopa decarboxylase (BAS-1) (Figure 1E). C. elegans tph-1

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mutants exhibited a reduced pumping rate during bacterial feeding (Sze et al. 2000) and

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serotonin activates pharyngeal pumping and isthmus peristalsis mimicking the effect of

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bacterial food (Horvitz et al. 1982; Avery and Horvitz 1990; Song and Avery 2012).

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Here, we investigated the role of serotonin in predatory feeding in P. pacificus.

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We identified the P. pacificus tryptophan hydroxylase (Ppa-tph-1) and 5HTP/L-dopa

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decarboxylase (Ppa-bas-1) and generated null mutants by utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9

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system. Ppa-tph-1 and Ppa-bas-1 mutants exhibited a strong reduction in predation

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efficiency in comparison to wild type animals. Using high-speed video microscopy, we

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found that those mutants disrupt the temporal coordination of pharyngeal pumping and

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tooth movement. Moreover, genetic ablation of the two serotonergic neurons NSM and

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ADF mimic the phenotype of Ppa-tph-1 mutants. Our results provide a novel function

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of serotonin for efficient killing during predation in P. pacificus by regulating the

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coordination of pharyngeal pumping and tooth movement.

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Materials and Methods

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Experimental Model

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All strains of P. pacificus were maintained at 20°C on NGM agar plates with E. coli.

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OP50. All experiments were performed using young adult hermaphrodites by picking J4

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larvae on the day before the assay. The following mutants and transgenic lines were

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used:

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Ppa-tph-1(tu1016) (RS3074), Ppa-bas-1(tu629) (RS2955), Ppa-bas-1(tu630) (RS2956),

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Ex[Ppa-tph-1p::RFP,

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Ex[Ppa-tph-1p::caspase-3(p12)::nz,

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Ppa-egl-20p::RFP]

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Ppa-tph-1p::RFP, Ppa-egl-20p::RFP] (tuEx256) (RS3065).

C.

elegans

(N2),

P.

pacificus

(PS312).

Ppa-egl-20p::RFP]

(tuEx259)

Ppa-tph-1(tu628)

(tuEx257)

(RS2946),

(RS3066),

Ppa-tph-1p::cz::caspase-3(p17), (RS3068),

Ex[tph-1p::caspase-3(p12)::nz,

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Molecular cloning of Ppa-tph-1 and Ppa-bas-1

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To identify Ppa-tph-1 and Ppa-bas-1, we utilized phylogenetic analysis between C.

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elegans and P. pacificus as previously described (Baskaran et al. 2015). Total RNA of

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the wild type strain (PS312) was purified using ZR RNA MicroPrep (Zymo Research,

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R1060). cDNA was synthesized by reverse transcription and used for 5’ and 3’RACE

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experiments using the SMARTer RACE 5’/3’ Kit (Clontech, 634858). PCR products

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were sequenced using Sanger sequencing.

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Generation of Ppa-tph-1 and Ppa-bas-1 mutants by CRISPR/Cas9 system

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CRISPR mutants were generated as previously described for P. pacificus (Witte et al.

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2015). To generate Ppa-tph-1(tu628), Cas9 protein (ToolGen Inc.) and sgRNAs

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(ToolGen Inc.) against Ppa-tph-1 and Ppa-pdl-1 were co-injected into PS312 young

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adults and screened for the dumpy co-CRISPR marker. Dumpy animals were isolated

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and the F2 were analyzed further for mutations in Ppa-tph-1. To obtain an additional

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Ppa-tph-1 mutant allele (tu1016), we synthesized a new sgRNA using the EnGen

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sgRNA Synthesis Kit, S. pyogenes Cas9 (NEB, #E3322S) and injected PS312 young

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adult animals. Mutant candidates were obtained by high resolution melting curve

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analysis (LightCycler 480 High Resolution Melting Master, Roche, 04909631001) of F1

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progeny of injected animals, confirmed by Sanger sequencing. To generate Ppa-bas-1

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mutants, Cas9 protein (ToolGen Inc.) and sgRNA (ToolGen Inc.) against Ppa-bas-1

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were injected into PS312 young adults following the same protocol as for Ppa-tph-1.

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To generate gRNAs, the following gene specific sequences were used;

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Ppa-pdl-1: TCTCGTGAACGCCAACCGCGTGG

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Ppa-tph-1(tu628): AGATTCCAAGCAATCGTCATCGG

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Ppa-tph-1(tu1016): ATGCAATAACGGGAGCTCCTTGG

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Ppa-bas-1(tu629), Ppa-bas-1(tu630): CTCCTCAGTACCCAGAGGAATGG

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All mutants were backcrossed with PS312 three times before performing further

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analysis.

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Generation of transgenic lines

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A 4.7 kb upstream region of Ppa-tph-1 was amplified by PCR and fused with

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TurboRFP and rpl-23 3’UTR to generate Ppa-tph-1p::RFP. Caspase-3 (p12)::nz and

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cz::caspase-3 (p17) were amplified from Pmec-18 caspase-3 (p12)::nz [TU#813]

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(Addgene #16082) and Pmec-18 cz::caspase-3 (p17) [TU#814] (Addgene #16083),

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respectively (Chelur and Chalfie 2007). The Ppa-tph-1 promoter, each reconstituted

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caspase

subunit

and

the

rpl-23

3’UTR

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were

fused

to

construct

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Ppa-tph-1p::caspase-3(p12)::nz and Ppa-tph-1p::cz::caspase-3(p17), respectively.

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These transgenes (10 ng/µl), Ppa-egl-20p::TurboRFP (10 ng/µl) as co-injection maker

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and PS312 genomic DNA (60 ng/µl) were digested by the appropriate restriction

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enzymes and were injected into young adults of PS312 as previously described

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(Schlager et al. 2009).

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Immunostaining

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Immunostaining was performed as previously described (Desai et al. 1988). Briefly,

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several plates with adult worms were washed in M9 buffer three times and fixed with

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4% paraformaldehyde/ PBS at 4°C overnight. Samples were washed with 0.5% Triton

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X-100/PBS (PBST) three times and treated with 5% -mercaptoethanol/ 1% TX-100/

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0.1 M Tris (pH 7.5) overnight at 37°C. After being washed in 1% TX-100/ 0.1 M Tris

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(pH 7.5) three times and in collagenase buffer (1 mM CaCl2/ 1% TX-100/ 0.1 M Tris

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(pH 7.5)), samples were incubated 1-3 hours at 37°C in 2000 Units/ml Collagenase type

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IV (SIGMA, C5138) in collagenase buffer. The samples were rinsed with PBST three

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times and blocked at room temperature for one hour in 1% BSA/PBST. They were

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incubated at 4°C overnight in the first antibody solution and rinsed with PBST three

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times. After a second blocking step for one hour in 1% BSA/ PBST, samples were

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incubated for 2-4 hours at 37°C with the secondary antibody solution. Samples were

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washed with PBST three times and mounted on agarose pads with Vectashield (Vector

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Laboratories, Inc, H-1000) for imaging. Images were obtained using a TCS SP8

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confocal microscope (Leica) and were processed using ImageJ. The following

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antibodies were used in this study; anti-serotonin (1:100, rabbit, SIGMA, S5545),

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anti-RFP (1:500, mouse, Cell Biolabs, AKR-021), goat anti-rabbit IgG secondary

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antibody Alexa Fluor 488 (1:100, Thermo Fisher, A-11008), and goat anti-mouse IgG

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Cy3 (1:100, Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories Inc. 115-165-146).

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Egg laying assay

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Worms were synchronized by bleaching and single J4 larvae were picked to each plate.

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Worms were transferred to new plates every 12 hours and the number of eggs was

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counted. To count the number of egg laying in short time intervals, one-day old adults

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were transferred to 96 well plates with 50 µl of M9 buffer or 10 mM serotonin solution.

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After two-hour incubation at 20°C, the number of eggs was counted. The number of

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eggs in the uterus was counted by observing three-day old adults with an Axioplan 2

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microscope (Zeiss).

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Corpse assay

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The corpse assay was performed as previously described (Wilecki et al. 2015; Lightfoot

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et al. 2016). To collect young larvae as prey, freshly starved plates of C. elegans (N2)

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were washed with M9 buffer and larvae were filtered twice with 20 µm Nylon Net

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Filters (Millipore, NY2004700). Young larvae were centrifuged and 3 µl of worm pellet

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were dropped on unseeded 60 mm NGM assay plate. Five predators were added to the

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assay plates. After two hours, the number of corpses was counted. Five plates of each

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strain were tested per experiment and the experiments were repeated three times. The

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data is the sum of all the experiments.

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Biting assay

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The bite assay was performed as previously described (Wilecki et al. 2015; Lightfoot et

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al. 2016). In short, young larvae were collected as mentioned in previous section.

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Predators were transferred to the assay plate with young larvae of C. elegans and they

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were allowed to recover for 15 minutes. After recovery, the predator was observed using

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a light stereomicroscope for 10 minutes and the numbers of biting, killing and feeding

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events were counted. 4–7 animals of each strain were tested per experiment and the

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experiments were repeated two or three times. The data are the sum of all the

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experiments.

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Pumping and tooth movement

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Pumping and tooth movement were observed as previously described (Wilecki et al.

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2015; Lightfoot et al. 2016). Worms were transferred to 35 mm NGM assay plates with

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E. coli OP50 or plates full with young larvae of C. elegans (N2). After 15-minute

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recovery time, pharyngeal pumping and tooth movement were video-recorded using a

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high-speed camera (Axio Imager A1, Zeiss) with 50 Hz for 15 seconds. For treatment

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with serotonin or dopamine, worms were incubated in 5 mM solutions of the

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neurotransmitters for four hours and pharyngeal pumping and tooth movement were

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observed within 20 minutes after transferring worms onto assay plates. The timing of

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tooth closure and muscle relaxation were observed and plotted as tooth movement and

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pumping, respectively.

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Statistical Analysis

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Data were processed and plotted using Excel and R 3. 2. 1 and statistical analysis was

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performed using R 3. 2. 1. All data are represented as mean± SEM unless otherwise

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noted. Statistical details of experiments, including statistical tests, statistical

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significance, the exact n numbers, can be found in the figure legends. “n” is denoting as

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the number of animals used except for corpse assay (Figure 2E). When p values are

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lower than 0.05, the results were considered to be statistically significant. No statistical

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methods were used to predetermine sample size. The experiments were not randomized,

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and the investigators were not blinded to allocation during experiments and outcome

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assessment.

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Data availability

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All materials and data used in this study, including mutant, transgenic lines, and

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plasmids are available upon request from the corresponding authors.

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Results

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CRISPR/Cas9 induced Ppa-tph-1 mutants show conserved functions in pharyngeal

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pumping and egg-laying

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To study the involvement of serotonin in predatory feeding behavior, we

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generated mutants in the tryptophan hydroxylase (Ppa-tph-1) gene of P. pacificus using

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the CRISPR/Cas9 system because TPH-1 is an essential enzyme for serotonin

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biosynthesis (Figure 1E and 1F). We obtained two independent alleles of Ppa-tph-1,

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tu628 with a 10-bp insertion and tu1016 with a 2-bp deletion and a 22-bp insertion that

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resulted in a premature stop codon (Figure 1F). To confirm that the mutant alleles are

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indeed

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anti-serotonin antibody (Wilecki et al. 2015). In wild type animals, serotonin is

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expressed in three pairs of neurons (NSM, ADF, I1) in the head region and in the

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hermaphrodite-specific neurons (HSN) in the vulva region (Figure 1G). Serotonin

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expression was completely absent in Ppa-tph-1(tu628) and Ppa-tph-1(tu1016) mutants

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(Figure 1H and 1I). Thus, both Ppa-tph-1 alleles are unable to produce serotonin and

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are likely strong reduction-of-function or null alleles.

non-functional,

we

performed

immunostaining

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experiments

with

an

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In C. elegans, serotonin is involved in feeding behavior and Cel-tph-1

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mutants show a reduction in the rate of pharyngeal pumping on bacterial food (Sze et al.

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2000). We examined the pumping rate during bacterial feeding in P. pacificus to identify

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if this function of serotonin is conserved between both species. We found a significantly

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lower pumping rate of Ppa-tph-1 mutants in comparison to wild type (p < 2.9*10-7),

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indicating that serotonin controls the pumping rate during bacterial feeding in P.

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pacificus (Figure 2A). As C. elegans serotonin expression in the HSN neurons regulates

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egg-laying behavior (Sze et al. 2000), we also investigated its potential role in P.

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pacificus. The lifetime fecundity of the P. pacificus wild type reference strain (PS312) is

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approximately 150 progeny, whereas Ppa-tph-1 mutants showed a significant reduction

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with an average of 50 progeny (Figure 2B). We also counted egg laying after a two-hour

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treatment with serotonin or M9 buffer control treatments. Although the serotonin

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treatment suppressed egg laying in wild type confirming previous results (Gutierrez and

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Sommer 2007), it partially rescued the egg-laying defect in Ppa-tph-1 mutant animals

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(Figure 2C, p < 1.0*10-7). The number of eggs in utero also increased in

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Ppa-tph-1(tu628) resulting in an egg-laying defective (Egl) phenotype in 80% of mutant

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adults (Figure 2D). In contrast, wild type P. pacificus eggs are usually released in the

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four or eight cell stages and an Egl phenotype is observed extremely rarely. Together,

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these data suggest that the function of serotonin during pharyngeal pumping is

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conserved between P. pacificus and C. elegans, and a proper amount of serotonin is

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important for egg laying in P. pacificus.

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Ppa-tph-1 is required for efficient killing during predation

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Next, we set out to test the involvement of serotonin in predatory feeding. We

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performed two killing assays termed “corpse assays” and “biting assays” that were

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established previously (Wilecki et al. 2015; Lightfoot et al. 2016). In short, in corpse

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assays five P. pacificus adults are incubated as predators with thousands of C. elegans

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L2 larvae as prey on unseeded NGM plates and the number of corpses are counted after

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a two-hour time period. Comparing the Ppa-tph-1 mutants with wild type animals we

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found a strong reduction in the number of corpses, however, corpses were still

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detectable and not completely eliminated (Figure 2E). Specifically, five wild type

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predators kill between 50 and 60 C. elegans larval prey, whereas Ppa-tph-1 mutants kill

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around 30 animals. In order to examine the predatory behavior in greater detail, we

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conducted bite assays. For this, one predator is observed over a 10-minute time interval

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and the number of biting, killing and feeding events on prey larvae are quantified. We

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observed that Ppa-tph-1 mutants bite and killed less prey than wild type animals (Figure

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2F). In addition, the number of feeding events was also decreased in Ppa-tph-1 mutants.

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Together these results suggest that serotonin is required for efficient killing during

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predation and that the absence of serotonin reduces, but does not completely eliminate,

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predatory killing and feeding behavior.

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Serotonin is necessary for the coordination of pharyngeal pumping and tooth

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movement

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As serotonin appeared to be involved in the efficiency of predatory feeding,

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we investigated its mechanistic function in more detail. For that, we quantified the

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feeding rhythm during predation using a high-speed camera system. We found that in P.

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pacificus wild type animals pharyngeal pumping decreased during predation

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maintaining an approximately 1:1 ratio of pumping and tooth movement (Fig. 3A and

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3B), confirming previous observations (Wilecki et al. 2015). In Ppa-tph-1 mutants,

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pharyngeal pumping was often similar, but tooth movement was significantly lower

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than in wild type animals (Figure 3A, p < 1.1*10-4). Similarly, the ratio of pharyngeal

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pumping to tooth movement was also decreased in Ppa-tph-1 mutants (Figure 3B, p