Maternal age modulates progeny social behavior via a small RNA-neuropeptide axis.

Progeny of young Caenorhabditis elegans mothers show stronger ADL neuron activity and enhanced avoidance of the social pheromone than progeny of older mothers.

• Why it matters: Maternal age affects offspring traits, but the molecular and circuit mechanisms linking maternal state to progeny neural function are unclear.
• What they did: The study identifies an ERI-1–microRNA–neuropeptide axis in peptidergic AVH interneurons that modulates ADL pheromone responsiveness, with ERI-1 promoting flp-26 expression by repressing mir-8207.
• The result: Maternal aging is linked to reduced ERI-1 expression in progeny AVH neurons and dampened signaling to ADL, and young-mother progeny disperse more readily from crowded, pheromone-rich environments.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.