DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2ngf1vhwn
title: Data for: Neuroendocrine gene expression coupling of interoceptive bacterial food cues to foraging behavior of C. elegans

description: Animal internal state is modulated by nutrient intake, resulting in
 behavioral responses to changing food conditions. The neural mechanisms by
 which internal states are generated and maintained are not well
 understood. Here, we show that in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans,
 distinct cues from bacterial food – interoceptive signals from the
 ingestion of bacteria and gustatory molecules sensed from nearby bacteria
 – act antagonistically on the expression of the neuroendocrine TGF-beta
 ligand DAF-7 from the ASJ pair of sensory neurons to modulate foraging
 behavior. A positive-feedback loop dependent on the expression of daf-7
 from the ASJ neurons acts to promote transitions between roaming and
 dwelling foraging states and influence the persistence of roaming states.
 SCD-2, the C. elegans ortholog of mammalian Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase
 (ALK), which has been implicated in the central control of metabolism of
 mammals, functions in the AIA interneurons to regulate foraging behavior
 and cell-non-autonomously control the expression of DAF-7 from the ASJ
 neurons. Our data establish how a dynamic neuroendocrine daf-7 expression
 feedback loop regulated by SCD-2 functions to couple sensing and ingestion
 of bacterial food to foraging behavior. We further suggest that this
 neuroendocrine feedback loop underlies previously characterized
 exploratory behaviors in C. elegans. Our data suggest that the expression
 of daf-7 from the ASJ neurons contributes to and is correlated with an
 internal state of “unmet need” that regulates exploratory foraging
 behavior in response to bacterial cues in diverse physiological contexts.
description: # Data for: Neuroendocrine gene expression coupling of interoceptive
 bacterial food cues to foraging behavior of C. elegans
 All data is from
 fluorescence microscopy, C. elegans activity assays, or roaming and
 dwelling assays. ## Description of the data and file structure Data is
 uploaded as .xlsx files and labeled by the figure number in the eLife
 manuscript. * Figures 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1H, 3B, 3D, 4A, 4B, 4D, 5A, and 5C
 represent quantified pdaf-7::gfp expression in ASJ. Data consists of lists
 of individual maximum GFP fluorescence values in ASJ normalized to
 expression time for individual animals. Quantification was performed in
 FIJI and is in arbitrary brightness units. * Figures 2A right, 2C right,
 4E right, 4G right, and 4J right are data from exploration assays. The
 exploration assay was performed loosely as previously described with
 several modifications (Flavell et al., 2013). Thirty-five millimeter NGM
 plates with no peptone were seeded with 500 µL OP50 grown overnight in LB
 so that the lawn covered the entire surface of the plate. On the day of
 the assay, one day-one adult animal was placed on the plate and allowed to
 explore for two hours before being removed. The plate was then
 superimposed on a grid of 3.5 mm squares and the number of squares crossed
 by the C. elegans tracks was manually counted. The data files represent
 lists of numbers of squares entered for individual animals of the
 corresponding genotypes. * Figures 2A left, 2B, 2C left, 3A, 3C, 4E Left,
 4G left, 4I, 4J, 5B, and 5D are data from roaming and dwelling assays.
 Data consists of lists of fraction of time roaming for individual animals
 calculated with WormLab. * Figures 2F, 4F, and 4H represent durations of
 individual roaming or dwelling states (seconds). Each value represents an
 individual state experienced by an individual animal. * Also included is a
 table of genotyping primer sequences for alleles first reported in this
 manuscript. More details can be found in the manuscript materials and
 methods.