Neuronal Nrf/SKN-1B controls a sexually dimorphic neuroendocrine pathway for C. elegans exploratory behaviour

Moreover, we show that SKN-1B is expressed in a sexually dimorphic pattern, and that SKN-1B influences gene expression on a much broader scale in males compared to hermaphrodites. This analysis identified a neuronal signalling pathway, specifically in males between SKN-1B, the TGF-β ligand DAF-7 and the chemosensory regulator ODR-10, and that this pathway contributes to increased exploratory behaviour in skn-1b mutant males.

Taken together our findings identify SKN-1B as a sex-specific neuronal switch to control food searching and mating behaviours. Sexual dimorphism is essential for optimizing survival and reproductive success and our findings establish SKN-1B as a regulator of sex-specific behavioural and metabolic traits. This work provides new insights into neuronal regulation of metabolism and behaviour, with implications for sex-specific physiological adaptations in other species.