Sex-specific pruning of neuronal synapses in Caenorhabditis elegans

Oren-Suissa, Meital; Bayer, Emily A.; Hobert, Oliver

doi:10.1038/nature17977

Cited by 121Neurobiology and Insect Physiology ResearchNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchAxon Guidance and Neuronal Signaling

Sex-specific pruning of neuronal synapses in Caenorhabditis elegans

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Oren-Suissa, Meital, Bayer, Emily A., Hobert, Oliver·2016·Nature

DOI 10.1038/nature17977PMC PMC4865429

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Abstract

Whether and how neurons that are present in both sexes of the same species can differentiate in a sexually dimorphic manner is not well understood. A comparison of the connectomes of the Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodite and male nervous systems reveals the existence of sexually dimorphic synaptic connections between neurons present in both sexes. Here we demonstrate sex-specific functions of these sex-shared neurons and show that many neurons initially form synapses in a hybrid manner in both the male and hermaphrodite pattern before sexual maturation. Sex-specific synapse pruning then results in the sex-specific maintenance of subsets of these connections. Reversal of the sexual identity of either the pre- or postsynaptic neuron alone transforms the patterns of synaptic connectivity to that of the opposite sex. A dimorphically expressed and phylogenetically conserved transcription factor is both necessary and sufficient to determine sex-specific connectivity patterns. Our studies reveal new insights into sex-specific circuit development.

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Authors: Oren-Suissa, M., Bayer, E. A., & Hobert, O.
Affiliations: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
Corresponding author: Hobert, Oliver
ORCID: Bayer, Emily A.
Hobert, Oliver
Venue: Nature
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2016-05-04
Volume: 533
Issue: 7602
Pages: 206-211
ISSN: 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
1476-4687
DOI: 10.1038/nature17977
PMC: PMC4865429
OpenAlex: W2345968315
Cited by: 121
References: 44
Citations by year: 2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 15 · 2016: 2
FWCI: 7.66
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
www.springer.com/tdm (vor)
Locations: Nature (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Medical Research Council
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R37NS039996, F31NS096863)
Topics: Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Axon Guidance and Neuronal Signaling
Keywords: Caenorhabditis elegans, sexual maturation, sensory neurons, transcription factors, connectome, sex-specific behavior
MeSH terms: Animals, DNA-Binding Proteins, Female, Male, Neuronal Plasticity, Sensory Receptor Cells, Sex Characteristics, Disorders of Sex Development, Sexual Maturation, Synapses, Transcription Factors, Conserved Sequence, Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila Proteins

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Sex-specific pruning of neuronal synapses in Caenorhabditis elegans

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