Fayyazuddin A, Zaheer MA, Hiesinger PR, Bellen HJ. The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor Dalpha7 is required for an escape behavior in Drosophila.
PLoS Biol 2006;
4:e63. [PMID:
16494528 PMCID:
PMC1382016 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pbio.0040063]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2005] [Accepted: 01/03/2006] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Acetylcholine is the major excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system of insects. Mutant analysis of the Dα7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) ofDrosophila shows that it is required for the giant fiber-mediated escape behavior. The Dα7 protein is enriched in the dendrites of the giant fiber, and electrophysiological analysis of the giant fiber circuit showed that sensory input to the giant fiber is disrupted, as is transmission at an identified cholinergic synapse between the peripherally synapsing interneuron and the dorsal lateral muscle motor neuron. Moreover, we found thatgfA1, a mutation identified in a screen for giant fiber defects more than twenty years ago, is an allele ofDα7. Therefore, a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, anatomical, and genetic data indicate an essential role for the Dα7 nAChR in giant fiber-mediated escape inDrosophila.
The authors integrate behavioral, electrophysiological, anatomical, and genetic data to establish an essential role for the Dα7 nAChR in giant fiber-mediated escape inDrosophila.
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