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Science 29 July 2005:
Vol. 309. no. 5735, pp. 787 - 790
DOI: 10.1126/science.1114209
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Reports

An Interneuronal Chemoreceptor Required for Olfactory Imprinting in C. elegans

Jean-Jacques Remy1 and Oliver Hobert2

Animals alter their behavioral patterns in an experience-dependent manner. Olfactory imprinting is a process in which the exposure of animals to olfactory cues during specific and restricted time windows leaves a permanent memory ("olfactory imprint") that shapes the animal's behavior upon encountering the olfactory cues at later times. We found that Caenorhabditis elegans displays olfactory imprinting behavior that is mediated by a single pair of interneurons. To function in olfactory imprinting, this interneuron pair must express a G protein–coupled chemoreceptor family member encoded by the sra-11 gene. Our study provides insights into the cellular and molecular basis of olfactory imprinting and reveals a function for a chemosensory receptor family member in interneurons.

1 Laboratoire NMDA CNRS UMR 6156, Institut de Biologie du Développement (IBDM), 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France. E-mail: remy{at}ibdm.univ-mrs.fr
2 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. E-mail: or38{at}columbia.edu

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