The UBR-1 ubiquitin ligase regulates glutamate metabolism to generate coordinated motor pattern in Caenorhabditis elegans

UBR1 is an E3 ubiquitin ligase best known for its ability to target protein degradation by the N-end rule. The physiological functions of UBR family proteins, however, remain not fully understood. We found that the functional loss of C. elegans UBR-1 leads to synchronized motor neuron activation, preventing body bending when animals generate reversal movements. This motor deficit is rescued by removing GOT-1, a transaminase that converts aspartate to glutamate. Both UBR-1 and GOT-1 are critically required in premotor interneurons of the reverse motor circuit to regulate the motor pattern. ubr-1 and got-1 mutants exhibit elevated and decreased glutamate level, respectively. These results raise an intriguing possibility that UBR proteins regulate glutamate metabolism.