A diacetyl-induced quiescence in young Caenorhabditis elegans

Many organisms enter quiescence in response to adverse environmental factors. Here, we show that L1 stage C. elegans entered a quiescent state after 3 hours exposure to diacetyl in which movement and growth stopped for hours to days after odorant removal. Entry into quiescence was dependent on neurons affected by the osm-3 mutation, and by AWA neurons. Conversely, AWB/AWC neurons, the guanylyl cyclase ODR-1, and the TRPV-channel subunit OCR-2 inhibited entry into L1 arrest. This quiescent behavior represents an alternative use of olfactory signaling pathways besides approach or avoidance, and is a novel model in which to characterize genes implicated in quiescence.