Sexual dimorphism occurs where different sexes of the same species display differences in characteristics not limited to reproduction. For the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, in which the complete neuroanatomy has been solved for both hermaphrodites and males, sexually dimorphic features have been observed both in terms of the number of neurons and in synaptic connectivity. In addition, male behaviours, such as food-leaving to prioritise searching for mates, have been attributed to neuropeptides released from sex-shared or sex-specific neurons.

This dataset compiles the results obtained in our investigation of how LURY-1 neuropeptides regulate feeding and mating behaviours in C. elegans. These contain confocal micrographs and z-stacks of fluorescence reporter imaging used to demonstrate the expression pattern of lury-1 and npr-22, including micrographs used for cell identification of lury-1 expressing neurons in the male worm. Other behavioural data from mating efficiency assays, pharyngeal pumping assays and food leaving assays are also shown. These include male turning behaviour examined through video recordings of male mating; the videos are also included as part of this dataset.

In this study (“Neuropeptide signalling shapes feeding and reproductive behaviours in male C. elegans”), our findings indicate sex-specific roles of this peptide in feeding and reproduction in C. elegans. This provides further insight into neuromodulatory control of sexually dimorphic behaviours.

1) Behavioural data was collected using experimental procedures described in detail in Methods section

2) Confocal imaging was collected on a Zeiss LSM 710/810/880 or Leica SP8

3) Video tracking was obtained using the single worm tracker (https://www.nature.com/articles/nmeth.2560)

Spreadsheets can be opened using Microsoft Excel or similar

Confocal images can be opened with ImageJ

Videos can be opened with VLC player