C. elegans Males Integrate Food Signals and Biological Sex to Modulate State-Dependent Chemosensation and Behavioral Prioritization

Summary Dynamic integration of internal and external cues is essential for flexible, adaptive behavior. In C. elegans, biological sex and feeding state regulate expression of the food-associated chemoreceptor odr-10, contributing to plasticity in food detection and the decision between feeding and exploration. In adult hermaphrodites, odr-10 expression is high, but in well-fed adult males, odr-10 expression is low, promoting exploratory mate-searching behavior. Food-deprivation transiently activates male odr-10 expression, heightening food sensitivity and reducing food leaving. Here, we identify a neuroendocrine feedback loop that sex-specifically regulates odr-10 in response to food deprivation. In well-fed males, insulin-like (insulin/IGF-1 signaling [IIS]) and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signaling repress odr-10 expression. Upon food deprivation, odr-10 is directly activated by DAF-16/FoxO, the canonical C. elegans IIS effector. The TGF-β ligand DAF-7 likely acts upstream of IIS and links feeding to odr-10 only in males, due in part to the male-specific expression of daf-7 in ASJ. Surprisingly, these responses to food deprivation are not triggered by internal metabolic cues but rather by the loss of sensory signals associated with food. When males are starved in the presence of inedible food, they become nutritionally stressed, but odr-10 expression remains low and exploratory behavior is suppressed less than in starved control males. Food signals are detected by a small number of sensory neurons whose activity non-autonomously regulates daf-7 expression, IIS, and odr-10. Thus, adult C. elegans males employ a neuroendocrine feedback loop that integrates food detection and genetic sex to dynamically modulate chemoreceptor expression and influence the feeding-versus-exploration decision.