Coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups regulates male tail posture during Caenorhabditis elegansmale mating behavior

Coordination of opposing sex-specific and core muscle groups regulates male tail posture during Caenorhabditis elegansmale mating behavior

BMC Biology, June 2009

19545405

Allyson J Whittaker, Paul W Sternberg

To survive and reproduce, animals must be able to modify their motor behavior in response to changes in the environment. We studied a complex behavior of Caenorhabditis elegans, male mating behavior, which provided a model for understanding motor behaviors at the genetic, molecular as well as circuit level. C. elegans male mating behavior consists of a series of six sub-steps: response to contact, backing, turning, vulva location, spicule insertion, and sperm transfer. The male tail contains most of the sensory structures required for mating, in addition to the copulatory structures, and thus to carry out the steps of mating behavior, the male must keep his tail in contact with the hermaphrodite. However, because the hermaphrodite does not play an active role in mating and continues moving, the male must modify his tail posture to maintain contact. We provide a better understanding of the molecular and neuro-muscular pathways that regulate male tail posture during mating.