Neuronal transcription factor SKN-1B controls sex-specific foraging behaviour in C. elegans

Researchers publishing in PLOS Genetics have characterised the role of SKN-1B — a neuron-specific isoform of the SKN-1/Nrf transcription factor — in controlling exploratory behaviour in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The SKN-1/Nrf family is best known for its role in metabolic homeostasis and stress responses, but C. elegans carries three distinct isoforms with separable functions. McLean and colleagues report that SKN-1B is expressed specifically in neurons and modulates hermaphrodite behaviour in response to food availability, operating through a neuroendocrine pathway that is sexually dimorphic — that is, its effects differ between the sexes.

The study used a combination of genetic loss-of-function analysis, tissue-specific expression rescue, and behavioural assays to dissect how SKN-1B integrates energetic state with the allocation of locomotor effort between foraging, reproduction, and survival. The findings add a neuronal-regulatory layer to the established metabolic functions of the Nrf/SKN-1 family and provide a tractable model system for studying how transcription factors in neurons coordinate whole-organism behaviour with internal resource availability.

The work is of primary interest to researchers working on transcription factor biology, C. elegans neurobiology, and the neuroendocrine regulation of behaviour. It also has relevance to educators and students as an illustration of how a single transcription factor isoform can perform distinct tissue-specific roles within the same organism.