Figure 6. UNC-31/CAPS is not required for establishing a high fraction of quiescence during lethargus but is required for micro-homeostasis.

(A) Left: the fraction of quiescence of wild-type animals and unc-31, egl-3, and egl-21 mutants during L4leth (shaded area). Quiescence was strongly reduced by the loss of function of EGL-3 or EGL-21, but not UNC-31. Right: the mean durations of bouts of quiescence of the same wild-type and mutant animals during the 15-min period of L4leth. Plots and bars depict mean ± s.e.m, the numbers of animals assayed are denoted in parentheses. (B) Pairwise bout correlations and plots of binned bouts in undisturbed animals (see Figure 2A for details). Pairwise correlations were abolished in unc-31, egl-3, and egl-21 mutants. All correlations are given with 95% confidence intervals (p < 0.05) and error bars depict ±s.e.m. The number of bouts in each case is denoted in parentheses. (C) A posture-based analysis of behavior of L4leth unc-31 mutants: the fraction of forward locomotion, backward locomotion, dwelling, and quiescence before, during, and after a weak (15 s, 20 mW/cm², blue light) stimulus. See also Figure 6—figure supplements 1,2. (D) A posture-based analysis of bout dynamics of unc-31 mutants following a weak stimulus. The duration of the motion induced by the weak stimulus was shorter than that of wild-type animals, and the compensatory enhancement of quiescence was weaker. N = 11 and 12 animals (e169 and e928), plots depict mean ± s.e.m, smoothed using a 30 s running window.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04380.012

Figure 6—figure supplement 1. Micro-homeostasis in undisturbed Hawaiian wild-isolates.

Hawaiian animals display overall quiescence similar to those of unc-31 mutants. However, while pairwise correlations between consecutive bouts are abolished in unc-31 mutants, this is not the case in Hawaiian animals (see Figure 7A–B for details).

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04380.013

Figure 6—figure supplement 2. Micro-homeostasis in undisturbed Hawaiian wild-isolates.

The durations of bouts of quiescence, as well as pairwise correlations, were measured for Hawaiian animals and unc-31 mutants as a function of time during L4 lethargus. The detailed comparison reveals that the duration of bouts cannot in and of themselves account for the strength of the pairwise correlations (see Figure 7A for details).

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04380.014