The Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Biology Division, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Dec 18;109(51):20949-54. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1218302109. Epub 2012 Dec 3.
Nematodes use an extensive chemical language based on glycosides of the dideoxysugar ascarylose for developmental regulation (dauer formation), male sex attraction, aggregation, and dispersal. However, no examples of a female- or hermaphrodite-specific sex attractant have been identified to date. In this study, we investigated the pheromone system of the gonochoristic sour paste nematode Panagrellus redivivus, which produces sex-specific attractants of the opposite sex. Activity-guided fractionation of the P. redivivus exometabolome revealed that males are strongly attracted to ascr#1 (also known as daumone), an ascaroside previously identified from Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites. Female P. redivivus are repelled by high concentrations of ascr#1 but are specifically attracted to a previously unknown ascaroside that we named dhas#18, a dihydroxy derivative of the known ascr#18 and an ascaroside that features extensive functionalization of the lipid-derived side chain. Targeted profiling of the P. redivivus exometabolome revealed several additional ascarosides that did not induce strong chemotaxis. We show that P. redivivus females, but not males, produce the male-attracting ascr#1, whereas males, but not females, produce the female-attracting dhas#18. These results show that ascaroside biosynthesis in P. redivivus is highly sex-specific. Furthermore, the extensive side chain functionalization in dhas#18, which is reminiscent of polyketide-derived natural products, indicates unanticipated biosynthetic capabilities in nematodes.
线虫利用基于二脱氧糖 ascarylose 的糖苷的广泛化学语言来进行发育调控（持久形成）、雄性性吸引、聚集和分散。然而，迄今为止，尚未鉴定出任何特定于雌性或雌雄同体的性引诱剂。在这项研究中，我们研究了雌雄异体的酸面团线虫 Panagrellus redivivus 的信息素系统，该系统产生异性的特异性性引诱剂。对 P. redivivus 外代谢组的活性导向分离表明，雄性对线虫 asc#1（也称为 daumone）表现出强烈的吸引力，这是先前从雌雄同体的秀丽隐杆线虫中鉴定出的一种 ascarioside。高浓度的 asc#1 会排斥雌性 P. redivivus，但它们会被一种以前未知的 ascarioside 特异性吸引，我们将其命名为 dhas#18，这是已知 asc#18 的二羟基衍生物，也是一种具有脂质衍生侧链广泛功能化的 ascarioside。对 P. redivivus 外代谢组的靶向分析揭示了几种不会引起强烈趋化性的 ascarioside。我们表明，雌性 P. redivivus 会产生吸引雄性的 asc#1，但雄性不会产生吸引雌性的 dhas#18，而雄性会产生吸引雌性的 dhas#18，但雌性不会产生吸引雄性的 asc#1。这些结果表明，P. redivivus 中的 ascarioside 生物合成具有高度的性别特异性。此外，dhas#18 中广泛的侧链功能化类似于聚酮衍生的天然产物，表明线虫具有意想不到的生物合成能力。
