SLO potassium channels antagonize premature decision making in C. elegans

Animals must modify their behavior with appropriate timing to respond to environmental changes. Yet, the molecular and neural mechanisms regulating the timing of behavioral transition remain largely unknown. By performing forward genetics to reveal mechanisms that underlie the plasticity of thermotaxis behavior in C. elegans, we demonstrated that SLO potassium channels and a cyclic nucleotide-gated channel, CNG-3, determine the timing of transition of temperature preference after a shift in cultivation temperature. We further revealed that SLO and CNG-3 channels act in thermosensory neurons and decelerate alteration in the responsiveness of these neurons, which occurs prior to the preference transition after a temperature shift. Our results suggest that regulation of sensory adaptation is a major determinant of latency before animals make decisions to change their behavior.