The Mechanisms of Navigational Decision Making during C. elegans Chemotaxis Revealed by Quantitative Analysis of the Behavior

Abstract

Under experimental conditions, virtually all behaviors of Caenorhabditis elegans are achieved by combinations of simple locomotion, including forward, reversal movement, turning by deep body bending, and resting. Here, we describe how the worm regulates these four locomotion during salt chemotaxis and acidic pH avoidance behaviors. Although, the behavioral maneuvers (klinokinesis and kilinotaxis) that the worm used during chemotaxis and avoidance were similar, the mechanisms underlying the behavioral decision making according to the sensory information were different between these two behaviors.