SAMS-1 is required for the normal defecation motor program in Caenorhabditis elegans

Defecation is an ultradian rhythmic behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans . We investigated the involvement of sams family genes in regulating the defecation motor program. We found that sams-1 mutants exhibited longer cycles than wild-type animals. With aging, the sams-1 mutants also frequently skipped the expulsion (Exp) step of defecation behavior. The sams-1 knockdown is known to reduce phosphatidylcholine (PC) levels, which are reversed by choline supplementation. We examined the effect of choline supplementation on defecation cycle times and Exp steps from adult days 1-4. Although choline supplementation did not alter the longer defecation cycle times of sams-1 mutants, it restored the loss of the Exp step in sams-1 mutants on adult days 3 and 4, suggesting a link between the regulation of the Exp step in sams-1 mutants and PC production.