A novel and conserved protein AHO-3 is required for thermotactic plasticity associated with feeding states in Caenorhabditis elegans

Although a large proportion of molecules expressed in the nervous system are conserved from invertebrate to vertebrate, functional properties of such molecules are less characterized. Here, we show that highly conserved hydrolase AHO-3 acts as a novel regulator of starvation-induced thermotactic plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans. As wild-type animals, aho-3 mutants migrated to the cultivation temperature on a linear thermal gradient after cultivation at a particular temperature with food. Whereas wild-type animals cultivated under food-deprived condition showed dispersed distribution on the gradient, aho-3 mutants exhibited tendency to migrate toward higher temperature. Such an abnormal behavior was completely rescued by the expression of human homologue of AHO-3, indicating that the molecular function of AHO-3 is highly conserved between nematode and human. The behavioral regulation by AHO-3 requires the N-terminal cysteine cluster, which ensures the proper subcellular localization of AHO-3 to sensory endings. Double-mutant analysis suggested that AHO-3 acts in the same pathway with ODR-3, a heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunit. Our results unveiled a novel neural protein in C. elegans, confirming its conserved role in behavioral regulation.