1
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Ortega-Insaurralde I, Latorre-Estivalis JM, Costa-da-Silva AL, Cano A, Insausti TC, Morales HS, Pontes G, de Astrada MB, Ons S, DeGennaro M, Barrozo RB. The pharyngeal taste organ of a blood-feeding insect functions in food recognition. BMC Biol 2024; 22:63. [PMID: 38481317 PMCID: PMC10938694 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-01861-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Obligate blood-feeding insects obtain the nutrients and water necessary to ensure survival from the vertebrate blood. The internal taste sensilla, situated in the pharynx, evaluate the suitability of the ingested food. Here, through multiple approaches, we characterized the pharyngeal organ (PO) of the hematophagous kissing bug Rhodnius prolixus to determine its role in food assessment. The PO, located antero-dorsally in the pharynx, comprises eight taste sensilla that become bathed with the incoming blood. RESULTS We showed that these taste sensilla house gustatory receptor neurons projecting their axons through the labral nerves to reach the subesophageal zone in the brain. We found that these neurons are electrically activated by relevant appetitive and aversive gustatory stimuli such as NaCl, ATP, and caffeine. Using RNA-Seq, we examined the expression of sensory-related gene families in the PO. We identified gustatory receptors, ionotropic receptors, transient receptor potential channels, pickpocket channels, opsins, takeouts, neuropeptide precursors, neuropeptide receptors, and biogenic amine receptors. RNA interference assays demonstrated that the salt-related pickpocket channel Rproppk014276 is required during feeding of an appetitive solution of NaCl and ATP. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence of the role of the pharyngeal organ in food evaluation. This work shows a comprehensive characterization of a pharyngeal taste organ in a hematophagous insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Ortega-Insaurralde
- Laboratorio de Neuroetología de Insectos, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental (DBBE), Instituto Biodiversidad Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - José Manuel Latorre-Estivalis
- Laboratorio de Insectos Sociales, Instituto de Fisiología Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (IFIBYNE), CONICET, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Andre Luis Costa-da-Silva
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Agustina Cano
- Laboratorio de Neuroetología de Insectos, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental (DBBE), Instituto Biodiversidad Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Héctor Salas Morales
- Laboratorio de Neuroetología de Insectos, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental (DBBE), Instituto Biodiversidad Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gina Pontes
- Laboratorio de Ecofisiología de Insectos, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental (DBBE), Instituto Biodiversidad Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Martín Berón de Astrada
- Laboratorio de Fisiología de la Visión, Departamento de Fisiología Biología Molecular y Celular (FBMC), Instituto de Biociencias Biotecnología y Biología Traslacional (IB3), Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sheila Ons
- Laboratorio de Neurobiología de Insectos, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas (CENEXA), Centro Regional de Estudios Genómicos, CONICET, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Matthew DeGennaro
- Department of Biological Sciences and Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - Romina B Barrozo
- Laboratorio de Neuroetología de Insectos, Departamento Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental (DBBE), Instituto Biodiversidad Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), CONICET, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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2
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Brezovec BE, Berger AB, Hao YA, Chen F, Druckmann S, Clandinin TR. Mapping the neural dynamics of locomotion across the Drosophila brain. Curr Biol 2024; 34:710-726.e4. [PMID: 38242122 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.12.063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2024]
Abstract
Locomotion engages widely distributed networks of neurons. However, our understanding of the spatial architecture and temporal dynamics of the networks that underpin walking remains incomplete. We use volumetric two-photon imaging to map neural activity associated with walking across the entire brain of Drosophila. We define spatially clustered neural signals selectively associated with changes in either forward or angular velocity, demonstrating that neurons with similar behavioral selectivity are clustered. These signals reveal distinct topographic maps in diverse brain regions involved in navigation, memory, sensory processing, and motor control, as well as regions not previously linked to locomotion. We identify temporal trajectories of neural activity that sweep across these maps, including signals that anticipate future movement, representing the sequential engagement of clusters with different behavioral specificities. Finally, we register these maps to a connectome and identify neural networks that we propose underlie the observed signals, setting a foundation for subsequent circuit dissection. Overall, our work suggests a spatiotemporal framework for the emergence and execution of complex walking maneuvers and links this brain-wide neural activity to single neurons and local circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bella E Brezovec
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Andrew B Berger
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Yukun A Hao
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Feng Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Shaul Druckmann
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Thomas R Clandinin
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Fairchild D200, 299 W. Campus Drive, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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3
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Li X, Sun Y, Gao S, Li Y, Liu L, Zhu Y. Taste coding of heavy metal ion-induced avoidance in Drosophila. iScience 2023; 26:106607. [PMID: 37128604 PMCID: PMC10148117 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing pollution of heavy metals poses great risks to animals globally. Their survival likely relies on an ability to detect and avoid harmful heavy metal ions (HMIs). Currently, little is known about the neural mechanisms of HMI detection. Here, we show that Drosophila and related species of Drosophilidae actively avoid toxic HMIs at micromolar concentrations. The high sensitivity to HMIs is biologically relevant. Particularly, their sensitivity to cadmium is as high as that to the most bitter substance, denatonium. Detection of HMIs in food requires Gr66a + gustatory neurons but is independent of bitter-taste receptors. In these neurons, the ionotropic receptors IR76b, IR25a, and IR7a are required for the perception of heavy metals. Furthermore, IR47a mediates the activation of a distinct group of non-Gr66a + gustatory neurons elicited by HMIs. Together, our findings reveal a surprising taste quality represented by noxious metal ions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaonan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuanjie Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shan Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yan Li
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Li Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Corresponding author
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4
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Shiu PK, Sterne GR, Spiller N, Franconville R, Sandoval A, Zhou J, Simha N, Kang CH, Yu S, Kim JS, Dorkenwald S, Matsliah A, Schlegel P, Szi-chieh Y, McKellar CE, Sterling A, Costa M, Eichler K, Jefferis GS, Murthy M, Bates AS, Eckstein N, Funke J, Bidaye SS, Hampel S, Seeds AM, Scott K. A leaky integrate-and-fire computational model based on the connectome of the entire adult Drosophila brain reveals insights into sensorimotor processing. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.02.539144. [PMID: 37205514 PMCID: PMC10187186 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.02.539144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The forthcoming assembly of the adult Drosophila melanogaster central brain connectome, containing over 125,000 neurons and 50 million synaptic connections, provides a template for examining sensory processing throughout the brain. Here, we create a leaky integrate-and-fire computational model of the entire Drosophila brain, based on neural connectivity and neurotransmitter identity, to study circuit properties of feeding and grooming behaviors. We show that activation of sugar-sensing or water-sensing gustatory neurons in the computational model accurately predicts neurons that respond to tastes and are required for feeding initiation. Computational activation of neurons in the feeding region of the Drosophila brain predicts those that elicit motor neuron firing, a testable hypothesis that we validate by optogenetic activation and behavioral studies. Moreover, computational activation of different classes of gustatory neurons makes accurate predictions of how multiple taste modalities interact, providing circuit-level insight into aversive and appetitive taste processing. Our computational model predicts that the sugar and water pathways form a partially shared appetitive feeding initiation pathway, which our calcium imaging and behavioral experiments confirm. Additionally, we applied this model to mechanosensory circuits and found that computational activation of mechanosensory neurons predicts activation of a small set of neurons comprising the antennal grooming circuit that do not overlap with gustatory circuits, and accurately describes the circuit response upon activation of different mechanosensory subtypes. Our results demonstrate that modeling brain circuits purely from connectivity and predicted neurotransmitter identity generates experimentally testable hypotheses and can accurately describe complete sensorimotor transformations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip K. Shiu
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Gabriella R. Sterne
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
- University of Rochester Medical Center, Department of Biomedical Genetics
| | - Nico Spiller
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | | | - Andrea Sandoval
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Joie Zhou
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Neha Simha
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Chan Hyuk Kang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, South Korea
| | - Seongbong Yu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, South Korea
| | - Jinseop S. Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, South Korea
| | - Sven Dorkenwald
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Computer Science Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Arie Matsliah
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Philipp Schlegel
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
- Neurobiology Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
| | - Yu Szi-chieh
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Claire E. McKellar
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Amy Sterling
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Marta Costa
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
| | | | - Gregory S.X.E. Jefferis
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
- Neurobiology Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
| | - Mala Murthy
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Alexander Shakeel Bates
- Neurobiology Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge
- Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, The University of Oxford
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Jan Funke
- HHMI Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, USA
| | - Salil S. Bidaye
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Stefanie Hampel
- Institute of Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Andrew M. Seeds
- Institute of Neurobiology, University of Puerto Rico-Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
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5
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Benton R, Dahanukar A. Chemosensory Coding in Drosophila Single Sensilla. Cold Spring Harb Protoc 2023; 2023:107803-pdb.top. [PMID: 36446528 DOI: 10.1101/pdb.top107803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The chemical senses-smell and taste-detect and discriminate an enormous diversity of environmental stimuli and provide fascinating but challenging models to investigate how sensory cues are represented in the brain. Important stimulus-coding events occur in peripheral sensory neurons, which express specific combinations of chemosensory receptors with defined ligand-response profiles. These receptors convert ligand recognition into spatial and temporal patterns of neural activity that are transmitted to, and interpreted in, central brain regions. Drosophila melanogaster provides an attractive model to study chemosensory coding because it possesses relatively simple peripheral olfactory and gustatory systems that display many organizational parallels to those of vertebrates. Moreover, nearly all peripheral chemosensory neurons have been molecularly characterized and are accessible for physiological analysis, as they are exposed on the surface of sensory organs housed in specialized hairs called sensilla. Here, we briefly review anatomical, molecular, and physiological properties of adult Drosophila olfactory and gustatory systems and provide background to methods for electrophysiological recordings of ligand-evoked activity from different types of chemosensory sensilla.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Benton
- Center for Integrative Genomics, Faculty of Biology and Medicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Anupama Dahanukar
- Department of Molecular, Cell & Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, USA
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6
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Delineating Purinergic Signaling in Drosophila. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232315196. [PMID: 36499534 PMCID: PMC9738970 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232315196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Simplistic models can aid in discovering what is important in the context of normal and pathological behavior. First recognized as a genetic model more than 100 years ago, to date, fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) still remain an astonishingly good laboratory stand-in for scientists to study development and physiology and to investigate the molecular mechanisms of human diseases. This is because fruit flies indeed represent a simplistic model. Furthermore, about 75% of human disease-related genes have their counterparts in the Drosophila genome, added to the fact that fruit flies are inexpensive and extremely easy to maintain, being invertebrates and, moreover, lacking any ethical concern issues. Purinergic signaling is, by definition, mediated by extracellular purinergic ligands, among which ATP represents the prototype molecule. A key feature that has progressively emerged when dissecting the purinergic mechanisms is the multilayer and dynamic nature of the signaling sustained by purinergic ligands. Indeed, these last are sequentially metabolized by several different ectonucleotidases, which generate the ligands that simultaneously activate several different purinergic receptors. Since significant purinergic actions have also been described in Drosophila, the aim of the present work is to provide a comprehensive picture of the purinergic events occurring in fruit flies.
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7
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Yoon S, Shin M, Shim J. Inter-organ regulation by the brain in Drosophila development and physiology. J Neurogenet 2022:1-13. [DOI: 10.1080/01677063.2022.2137162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sunggyu Yoon
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Natural Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Mingyu Shin
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Natural Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jiwon Shim
- Department of Life Sciences, College of Natural Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Research Institute for Natural Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Hanyang Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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8
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Snell NJ, Fisher JD, Hartmann GG, Zolyomi B, Talay M, Barnea G. Complex representation of taste quality by second-order gustatory neurons in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2022; 32:3758-3772.e4. [PMID: 35973432 PMCID: PMC9474709 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.07.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Sweet and bitter compounds excite different sensory cells and drive opposing behaviors. However, it remains unclear how sweet and bitter tastes are represented by the neural circuits linking sensation to behavior. To investigate this question in Drosophila, we devised trans-Tango(activity), a strategy for calcium imaging of second-order gustatory projection neurons based on trans-Tango, a genetic transsynaptic tracing technique. We found spatial overlap between the projection neuron populations activated by sweet and bitter tastants. The spatial representation of bitter tastants in the projection neurons was consistent, while that of sweet tastants was heterogeneous. Furthermore, we discovered that bitter tastants evoke responses in the gustatory receptor neurons and projection neurons upon both stimulus onset and offset and that bitter offset and sweet onset excite overlapping second-order projections. These findings demonstrate an unexpected complexity in the representation of sweet and bitter tastants by second-order neurons of the gustatory circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathaniel J Snell
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - John D Fisher
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Griffin G Hartmann
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Bence Zolyomi
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Mustafa Talay
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
| | - Gilad Barnea
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Biology and Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA; The Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
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9
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Hermans L, Kaynak M, Braun J, Ríos VL, Chen CL, Friedberg A, Günel S, Aymanns F, Sakar MS, Ramdya P. Microengineered devices enable long-term imaging of the ventral nerve cord in behaving adult Drosophila. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5006. [PMID: 36008386 PMCID: PMC9411199 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32571-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The dynamics and connectivity of neural circuits continuously change on timescales ranging from milliseconds to an animal's lifetime. Therefore, to understand biological networks, minimally invasive methods are required to repeatedly record them in behaving animals. Here we describe a suite of devices that enable long-term optical recordings of the adult Drosophila melanogaster ventral nerve cord (VNC). These consist of transparent, numbered windows to replace thoracic exoskeleton, compliant implants to displace internal organs, a precision arm to assist implantation, and a hinged stage to repeatedly tether flies. To validate and illustrate our toolkit we (i) show minimal impact on animal behavior and survival, (ii) follow the degradation of chordotonal organ mechanosensory nerve terminals over weeks after leg amputation, and (iii) uncover waves of neural activity caffeine ingestion. Thus, our long-term imaging toolkit opens up the investigation of premotor and motor circuit adaptations in response to injury, drug ingestion, aging, learning, and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Hermans
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Microbiorobotic Systems Laboratory, Institute of Mechanical Engineering & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Murat Kaynak
- Microbiorobotic Systems Laboratory, Institute of Mechanical Engineering & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Jonas Braun
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Victor Lobato Ríos
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Chin-Lin Chen
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Adam Friedberg
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Semih Günel
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.,Computer Vision Laboratory, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Florian Aymanns
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Mahmut Selman Sakar
- Microbiorobotic Systems Laboratory, Institute of Mechanical Engineering & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Pavan Ramdya
- Neuroengineering Laboratory, Brain Mind Institute & Institute of Bioengineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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10
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The neuronal logic of how internal states control food choice. Nature 2022; 607:747-755. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04909-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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11
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Shiu PK, Sterne GR, Engert S, Dickson BJ, Scott K. Taste quality and hunger interactions in a feeding sensorimotor circuit. eLife 2022; 11:e79887. [PMID: 35791902 PMCID: PMC9292995 DOI: 10.7554/elife.79887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Taste detection and hunger state dynamically regulate the decision to initiate feeding. To study how context-appropriate feeding decisions are generated, we combined synaptic resolution circuit reconstruction with targeted genetic access to specific neurons to elucidate a gustatory sensorimotor circuit for feeding initiation in adult Drosophila melanogaster. This circuit connects gustatory sensory neurons to proboscis motor neurons through three intermediate layers. Most neurons in this pathway are necessary and sufficient for proboscis extension, a feeding initiation behavior, and respond selectively to sugar taste detection. Pathway activity is amplified by hunger signals that act at select second-order neurons to promote feeding initiation in food-deprived animals. In contrast, the feeding initiation circuit is inhibited by a bitter taste pathway that impinges on premotor neurons, illuminating a local motif that weighs sugar and bitter taste detection to adjust the behavioral outcomes. Together, these studies reveal central mechanisms for the integration of external taste detection and internal nutritive state to flexibly execute a critical feeding decision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip K Shiu
- University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
| | - Gabriella R Sterne
- University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
| | | | - Barry J Dickson
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteChevy ChaseUnited States
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of QueenslandBrisbaneAustralia
| | - Kristin Scott
- University of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
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12
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Sun LL, Liu XL, Wang YN, Berg BG, Xie GY, Chen WB, Liu Y, Wang GR, Zhao XC, Tang QB. Neuronal architecture and functional mapping of the taste center of larval Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 29:730-748. [PMID: 34427391 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The sense of taste plays a crucial role in herbivorous insects by discriminating nutrients from complex plant metabolic compounds. The peripheral coding of taste has been thoroughly studied in many insect species, but the central gustatory pathways are poorly described. In the present study, we characterized single neurons in the gnathal ganglion of Helicoverpa armigera larvae using the intracellular recording/staining technique. We identified different types of neurons, including sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons. The morphologies of these neurons were largely diverse and their arborizations seemingly covered the whole gnathal ganglion. The representation of the single neurons responding to the relevant stimuli of sweet and bitter cues showed no distinct patterns in the gnathal ganglion. We postulate that taste signals may be processed in a manner consistent with the principle of population coding in the gnathal ganglion of H. armigera larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long-Long Sun
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Xiao-Lan Liu
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Ya-Nan Wang
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Bente G Berg
- Chemosensory laboratory, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7489, Norway
| | - Gui-Ying Xie
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Wen-Bo Chen
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Gui-Rong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Disease and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Xin-Cheng Zhao
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Qing-Bo Tang
- Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
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13
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Engert S, Sterne GR, Bock DD, Scott K. Drosophila gustatory projections are segregated by taste modality and connectivity. eLife 2022; 11:78110. [PMID: 35611959 PMCID: PMC9170244 DOI: 10.7554/elife.78110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Gustatory sensory neurons detect caloric and harmful compounds in potential food and convey this information to the brain to inform feeding decisions. To examine the signals that gustatory neurons transmit and receive, we reconstructed gustatory axons and their synaptic sites in the adult Drosophila melanogaster brain, utilizing a whole-brain electron microscopy volume. We reconstructed 87 gustatory projections from the proboscis labellum in the right hemisphere and 57 from the left, representing the majority of labellar gustatory axons. Gustatory neurons contain a nearly equal number of interspersed pre-and post-synaptic sites, with extensive synaptic connectivity among gustatory axons. Morphology- and connectivity-based clustering revealed six distinct groups, likely representing neurons recognizing different taste modalities. The vast majority of synaptic connections are between neurons of the same group. This study resolves the anatomy of labellar gustatory projections, reveals that gustatory projections are segregated based on taste modality, and uncovers synaptic connections that may alter the transmission of gustatory signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Engert
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Gabriella R Sterne
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Davi D Bock
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, United States
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
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14
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Yao Z, Scott K. Serotonergic neurons translate taste detection into internal nutrient regulation. Neuron 2022; 110:1036-1050.e7. [PMID: 35051377 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.12.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Revised: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The nervous and endocrine systems coordinately monitor and regulate nutrient availability to maintain energy homeostasis. Sensory detection of food regulates internal nutrient availability in a manner that anticipates food intake, but sensory pathways that promote anticipatory physiological changes remain unclear. Here, we identify serotonergic (5-HT) neurons as critical mediators that transform gustatory detection by sensory neurons into the activation of insulin-producing cells and enteric neurons in Drosophila. One class of 5-HT neurons responds to gustatory detection of sugars, excites insulin-producing cells, and limits consumption, suggesting that they anticipate increased nutrient levels and prevent overconsumption. A second class of 5-HT neurons responds to gustatory detection of bitter compounds and activates enteric neurons to promote gastric motility, likely to stimulate digestion and increase circulating nutrients upon food rejection. These studies demonstrate that 5-HT neurons relay acute gustatory detection to divergent pathways for longer-term stabilization of circulating nutrients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zepeng Yao
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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15
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Kirk MJ, Benlian BR, Han Y, Gold A, Ravi A, Deal PE, Molina RS, Drobizhev M, Dickman D, Scott K, Miller EW. Voltage Imaging in Drosophila Using a Hybrid Chemical-Genetic Rhodamine Voltage Reporter. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:754027. [PMID: 34867164 PMCID: PMC8637050 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.754027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We combine a chemically-synthesized, voltage-sensitive fluorophore with a genetically encoded, self-labeling enzyme to enable voltage imaging in Drosophila melanogaster. Previously, we showed that a rhodamine voltage reporter (RhoVR) combined with the HaloTag self-labeling enzyme could be used to monitor membrane potential changes from mammalian neurons in culture and brain slice. Here, we apply this hybrid RhoVR-Halo approach in vivo to achieve selective neuron labeling in intact fly brains. We generate a Drosophila UAS-HaloTag reporter line in which the HaloTag enzyme is expressed on the surface of cells. We validate the voltage sensitivity of this new construct in cell culture before driving expression of HaloTag in specific brain neurons in flies. We show that selective labeling of synapses, cells, and brain regions can be achieved with RhoVR-Halo in either larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) or in whole adult brains. Finally, we validate the voltage sensitivity of RhoVR-Halo in fly tissue via dual-electrode/imaging at the NMJ, show the efficacy of this approach for measuring synaptic excitatory post-synaptic potentials (EPSPs) in muscle cells, and perform voltage imaging of carbachol-evoked depolarization and osmolarity-evoked hyperpolarization in projection neurons and in interoceptive subesophageal zone neurons in fly brain explants following in vivo labeling. We envision the turn-on response to depolarizations, fast response kinetics, and two-photon compatibility of chemical indicators, coupled with the cellular and synaptic specificity of genetically-encoded enzymes, will make RhoVR-Halo a powerful complement to neurobiological imaging in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Molly J. Kirk
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Brittany R. Benlian
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Yifu Han
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Arya Gold
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Ashvin Ravi
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Parker E. Deal
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Rosana S. Molina
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Mikhail Drobizhev
- Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, United States
| | - Dion Dickman
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
| | - Evan W. Miller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States
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16
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Sterne GR, Otsuna H, Dickson BJ, Scott K. Classification and genetic targeting of cell types in the primary taste and premotor center of the adult Drosophila brain. eLife 2021; 10:e71679. [PMID: 34473057 PMCID: PMC8445619 DOI: 10.7554/elife.71679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural circuits carry out complex computations that allow animals to evaluate food, select mates, move toward attractive stimuli, and move away from threats. In insects, the subesophageal zone (SEZ) is a brain region that receives gustatory, pheromonal, and mechanosensory inputs and contributes to the control of diverse behaviors, including feeding, grooming, and locomotion. Despite its importance in sensorimotor transformations, the study of SEZ circuits has been hindered by limited knowledge of the underlying diversity of SEZ neurons. Here, we generate a collection of split-GAL4 lines that provides precise genetic targeting of 138 different SEZ cell types in adult Drosophila melanogaster, comprising approximately one third of all SEZ neurons. We characterize the single-cell anatomy of these neurons and find that they cluster by morphology into six supergroups that organize the SEZ into discrete anatomical domains. We find that the majority of local SEZ interneurons are not classically polarized, suggesting rich local processing, whereas SEZ projection neurons tend to be classically polarized, conveying information to a limited number of higher brain regions. This study provides insight into the anatomical organization of the SEZ and generates resources that will facilitate further study of SEZ neurons and their contributions to sensory processing and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella R Sterne
- University of California BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Hideo Otsuna
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
| | - Barry J Dickson
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical InstituteAshburnUnited States
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of QueenslandQueenslandAustralia
| | - Kristin Scott
- University of California BerkeleyBerkeleyUnited States
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17
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Redolfi N, García-Casas P, Fornetto C, Sonda S, Pizzo P, Pendin D. Lighting Up Ca 2+ Dynamics in Animal Models. Cells 2021; 10:2133. [PMID: 34440902 PMCID: PMC8392631 DOI: 10.3390/cells10082133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2021] [Revised: 08/08/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Calcium (Ca2+) signaling coordinates are crucial processes in brain physiology. Particularly, fundamental aspects of neuronal function such as synaptic transmission and neuronal plasticity are regulated by Ca2+, and neuronal survival itself relies on Ca2+-dependent cascades. Indeed, impaired Ca2+ homeostasis has been reported in aging as well as in the onset and progression of neurodegeneration. Understanding the physiology of brain function and the key processes leading to its derangement is a core challenge for neuroscience. In this context, Ca2+ imaging represents a powerful tool, effectively fostered by the continuous amelioration of Ca2+ sensors in parallel with the improvement of imaging instrumentation. In this review, we explore the potentiality of the most used animal models employed for Ca2+ imaging, highlighting their application in brain research to explore the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nelly Redolfi
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (N.R.); (P.G.-C.); (C.F.); (S.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Paloma García-Casas
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (N.R.); (P.G.-C.); (C.F.); (S.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Chiara Fornetto
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (N.R.); (P.G.-C.); (C.F.); (S.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Sonia Sonda
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (N.R.); (P.G.-C.); (C.F.); (S.S.); (P.P.)
| | - Paola Pizzo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (N.R.); (P.G.-C.); (C.F.); (S.S.); (P.P.)
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - Diana Pendin
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy; (N.R.); (P.G.-C.); (C.F.); (S.S.); (P.P.)
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), 35131 Padua, Italy
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18
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Yang J, Guo H, Jiang NJ, Tang R, Li GC, Huang LQ, van Loon JJA, Wang CZ. Identification of a gustatory receptor tuned to sinigrin in the cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009527. [PMID: 34264948 PMCID: PMC8282186 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Glucosinolates are token stimuli in host selection of many crucifer specialist
insects, but the underlying molecular basis for host selection in these insects
remains enigmatic. Using a combination of behavioral, electrophysiological, and
molecular methods, we investigate glucosinolate receptors in the cabbage
butterfly Pieris rapae. Sinigrin, as a potent feeding
stimulant, elicited activity in larval maxillary lateral sensilla styloconica,
as well as in adult medial tarsal sensilla. Two P.
rapae gustatory receptor genes PrapGr28
and PrapGr15 were identified with high expression in female
tarsi, and the subsequent functional analyses showed that
Xenopus oocytes only expressing PrapGr28
had specific responses to sinigrin; when ectopically expressed in
Drosophila sugar sensing neurons, PrapGr28 conferred
sinigrin sensitivity to these neurons. RNA interference experiments further
showed that knockdown of PrapGr28 reduced the sensitivity of
adult medial tarsal sensilla to sinigrin. Taken together, we conclude that
PrapGr28 is a gustatory receptor tuned to sinigrin in P.
rapae, which paves the way for revealing the molecular
basis of the relationships between crucifer plants and their specialist
insects. Preference of crucifer specialist insects to glucosinolates is well known in the
field of insect-plant interactions, but its molecular basis is unclear. This
study uses an integrative approach to investigate the molecular basis of
glucosinolate detection by gustatory receptor neurons in the larval mouthparts
and adult forelegs of the cabbage butterfly Pieris rapae, and
finally reveal that PrapGr28 is a bitter receptor tuned to sinigrin. The current
work takes a significant step towards identifying gustatory receptors tuned to
glucosinolates, crucial recognition signals in crucifer host plants, providing
insights into co-evolution of herbivorous insects and their host plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Nan-Ji Jiang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
| | - Rui Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
| | - Guo-Cheng Li
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ling-Qiao Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
| | - Joop J. A. van Loon
- Laboratory of Entomology, Plant Sciences Group, Wageningen University and
Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Chen-Zhu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and
Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing,
China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
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19
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Chen YCD, Menon V, Joseph RM, Dahanukar AA. Control of Sugar and Amino Acid Feeding via Pharyngeal Taste Neurons. J Neurosci 2021; 41:5791-5808. [PMID: 34031164 PMCID: PMC8265808 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1794-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect gustatory systems comprise multiple taste organs for detecting chemicals that signal palatable or noxious quality. Although much is known about how taste neurons sense various chemicals, many questions remain about how individual taste neurons in each taste organ control feeding. Here, we use the Drosophila pharynx as a model to investigate how taste information is encoded at the cellular level to regulate consumption of sugars and amino acids. We first generate taste-blind animals and establish a critical role for pharyngeal input in food selection. We then investigate feeding behavior of both male and female flies in which only selected classes of pharyngeal neurons are restored via binary choice feeding preference assays as well as Fly Liquid-Food Interaction Counter assays. We find instances of integration as well as redundancy in how pharyngeal neurons control behavioral responses to sugars and amino acids. Additionally, we find that pharyngeal neurons drive sugar feeding preference based on sweet taste but not on nutritional value. Finally, we demonstrate functional specialization of pharyngeal and external neurons using optogenetic activation. Overall, our genetic taste neuron protection system in a taste-blind background provides a powerful approach to elucidate principles of pharyngeal taste coding and demonstrates functional overlap and subdivision among taste neurons.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dietary intake of nutritious chemicals such as sugars and amino acids is essential for the survival of an animal. In insects, distinct classes of taste neurons control acceptance or rejection of food sources. Here, we develop a genetic system to investigate how individual taste neurons in the Drosophila pharynx encode specific tastants, focusing on sugars and amino acids. By examining flies in which only a single class of taste neurons is active, we find evidence for functional overlap as well as redundancy in responses to sugars and amino acids. We also uncover a functional subdivision between pharyngeal and external neurons in driving feeding responses. Overall, we find that different pharyngeal neurons act together to control intake of the two categories of appetitive tastants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chieh David Chen
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Vaibhav Menon
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Ryan Matthew Joseph
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Anupama Arun Dahanukar
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
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20
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Brown EB, Shah KD, Palermo J, Dey M, Dahanukar A, Keene AC. Ir56d-dependent fatty acid responses in Drosophila uncover taste discrimination between different classes of fatty acids. eLife 2021; 10:67878. [PMID: 33949306 PMCID: PMC8169106 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Chemosensory systems are critical for evaluating the caloric value and potential toxicity of food. While animals can discriminate between thousands of odors, much less is known about the discriminative capabilities of taste systems. Fats and sugars represent calorically potent and attractive food sources that contribute to hedonic feeding. Despite the differences in nutritional value between fats and sugars, the ability of the taste system to discriminate between different rewarding tastants is thought to be limited. In Drosophila, taste neurons expressing the ionotropic receptor 56d (IR56d) are required for reflexive behavioral responses to the medium-chain fatty acid, hexanoic acid. Here, we tested whether flies can discriminate between different classes of fatty acids using an aversive memory assay. Our results indicate that flies are able to discriminate medium-chain fatty acids from both short- and long-chain fatty acids, but not from other medium-chain fatty acids. While IR56d neurons are broadly responsive to short-, medium-, and long-chain fatty acids, genetic deletion of IR56d selectively disrupts response to medium-chain fatty acids. Further, IR56d+ GR64f+ neurons are necessary for proboscis extension response (PER) to medium-chain fatty acids, but both IR56d and GR64f neurons are dispensable for PER to short- and long-chain fatty acids, indicating the involvement of one or more other classes of neurons. Together, these findings reveal that IR56d is selectively required for medium-chain fatty acid taste, and discrimination of fatty acids occurs through differential receptor activation in shared populations of neurons. Our study uncovers a capacity for the taste system to encode tastant identity within a taste category.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth B Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, United States
| | - Kreesha D Shah
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, United States.,Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, United States
| | - Justin Palermo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, United States
| | - Manali Dey
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States
| | - Anupama Dahanukar
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States.,Department of Molecular, Cell & Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States
| | - Alex C Keene
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, United States
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21
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Mann K, Deny S, Ganguli S, Clandinin TR. Coupling of activity, metabolism and behaviour across the Drosophila brain. Nature 2021; 593:244-248. [PMID: 33911283 PMCID: PMC10544789 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03497-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Coordinated activity across networks of neurons is a hallmark of both resting and active behavioural states in many species1-5. These global patterns alter energy metabolism over seconds to hours, which underpins the widespread use of oxygen consumption and glucose uptake as proxies of neural activity6,7. However, whether changes in neural activity are causally related to metabolic flux in intact circuits on the timescales associated with behaviour is unclear. Here we combine two-photon microscopy of the fly brain with sensors that enable the simultaneous measurement of neural activity and metabolic flux, across both resting and active behavioural states. We demonstrate that neural activity drives changes in metabolic flux, creating a tight coupling between these signals that can be measured across brain networks. Using local optogenetic perturbation, we demonstrate that even transient increases in neural activity result in rapid and persistent increases in cytosolic ATP, which suggests that neuronal metabolism predictively allocates resources to anticipate the energy demands of future activity. Finally, our studies reveal that the initiation of even minimal behavioural movements causes large-scale changes in the pattern of neural activity and energy metabolism, which reveals a widespread engagement of the brain. As the relationship between neural activity and energy metabolism is probably evolutionarily ancient and highly conserved, our studies provide a critical foundation for using metabolic proxies to capture changes in neural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Mann
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Stephane Deny
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Surya Ganguli
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
- Department of Applied Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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22
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Leinwand SG, Scott K. Juvenile hormone drives the maturation of spontaneous mushroom body neural activity and learned behavior. Neuron 2021; 109:1836-1847.e5. [PMID: 33915110 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.04.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2021] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Mature behaviors emerge from neural circuits sculpted by genetic programs and spontaneous and evoked neural activity. However, how neural activity is refined to drive maturation of learned behavior remains poorly understood. Here, we explore how transient hormonal signaling coordinates a neural activity state transition and maturation of associative learning. We identify spontaneous, asynchronous activity in a Drosophila learning and memory brain region, the mushroom body. This activity declines significantly over the first week of adulthood. Moreover, this activity is generated cell-autonomously via Cacophony voltage-gated calcium channels in a single cell type, α'/β' Kenyon cells. Juvenile hormone, a crucial developmental regulator, acts transiently in α'/β' Kenyon cells during a young adult sensitive period to downregulate spontaneous activity and enable subsequent enhanced learning. Hormone signaling in young animals therefore controls a neural activity state transition and is required for improved associative learning, providing insight into the maturation of circuits and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah G Leinwand
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.
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23
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Lyu Y, Weaver KJ, Shaukat HA, Plumoff ML, Tjilos M, Promislow DE, Pletcher SD. Drosophila serotonin 2A receptor signaling coordinates central metabolic processes to modulate aging in response to nutrient choice. eLife 2021; 10:59399. [PMID: 33463526 PMCID: PMC7909950 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been recognized for nearly a century that diet modulates aging. Despite early experiments suggesting that reduced caloric intake augmented lifespan, accumulating evidence indicates that other characteristics of the diet may be equally or more influential in modulating aging. We demonstrate that behavior, metabolism, and lifespan in Drosophila are affected by whether flies are provided a choice of different nutrients or a single, complete medium, largely independent of the amount of nutrients that are consumed. Meal choice elicits a rapid metabolic reprogramming that indicates a potentiation of TCA cycle and amino acid metabolism, which requires serotonin 2A receptor. Knockdown of glutamate dehydrogenase, a key TCA pathway component, abrogates the effect of dietary choice on lifespan. Our results reveal a mechanism of aging that applies in natural conditions, including our own, in which organisms continuously perceive and evaluate nutrient availability to promote fitness and well-being. The foods we eat can affect our lifespan, but it is also possible that thinking about food may have effects on our health. Choosing what to eat is one of the main ways we think about food, and most animals, including the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, choose their foods. The effects of these choices can affect health via a chemical in the brain called serotonin. This chemical interacts with proteins called serotonin 2A receptors in the brain, which then likely primes the body to process nutrients. To understand how serotonin affected the lifespan and health of fruit flies, Lyu et al. compared flies that were offered a single food to those that could choose between several foods. The flies that had a choice of foods lived shorter lives and produced more serotonin, but these effects were reversed when Lyu et al. limited the amount of a protein called glutamate dehydrogenase, which helps cells process nutrients. These results suggest that choosing what we eat can impact lifespan, ageing and health. Human and fly brains share many similarities, but human brain chemistry is more complex, as is our experience of food. This work demonstrates that food choices can affect lifespan. More research into this phenomenon may shed further light onto how our thoughts and decision-making impact our health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Lyu
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Geriatrics Center, Biomedical Sciences and Research Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
| | - Kristina J Weaver
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Geriatrics Center, Biomedical Sciences and Research Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
| | - Humza A Shaukat
- College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
| | - Marta L Plumoff
- College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
| | - Maria Tjilos
- College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
| | - Daniel El Promislow
- Department of Lab Medicine & Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, United States.,Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Scott D Pletcher
- Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology and Geriatrics Center, Biomedical Sciences and Research Building, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, United States
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24
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Jin H, Fishman ZH, Ye M, Wang L, Zuker CS. Top-Down Control of Sweet and Bitter Taste in the Mammalian Brain. Cell 2021; 184:257-271.e16. [PMID: 33417862 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.12.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Hardwired circuits encoding innate responses have emerged as an essential feature of the mammalian brain. Sweet and bitter evoke opposing predetermined behaviors. Sweet drives appetitive responses and consumption of energy-rich food sources, whereas bitter prevents ingestion of toxic chemicals. Here we identified and characterized the neurons in the brainstem that transmit sweet and bitter signals from the tongue to the cortex. Next we examined how the brain modulates this hardwired circuit to control taste behaviors. We dissect the basis for bitter-evoked suppression of sweet taste and show that the taste cortex and amygdala exert strong positive and negative feedback onto incoming bitter and sweet signals in the brainstem. Finally we demonstrate that blocking the feedback markedly alters responses to ethologically relevant taste stimuli. These results illustrate how hardwired circuits can be finely regulated by top-down control and reveal the neural basis of an indispensable behavioral response for all animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Jin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Department of Neuroscience, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Z Hershel Fishman
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Department of Neuroscience, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Mingyu Ye
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Department of Neuroscience, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Li Wang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Department of Neuroscience, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Charles S Zuker
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and Department of Neuroscience, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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25
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Pacheco DA, Thiberge SY, Pnevmatikakis E, Murthy M. Auditory activity is diverse and widespread throughout the central brain of Drosophila. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:93-104. [PMID: 33230320 PMCID: PMC7783861 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-020-00743-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Sensory pathways are typically studied by starting at receptor neurons and following postsynaptic neurons into the brain. However, this leads to a bias in analyses of activity toward the earliest layers of processing. Here, we present new methods for volumetric neural imaging with precise across-brain registration to characterize auditory activity throughout the entire central brain of Drosophila and make comparisons across trials, individuals and sexes. We discover that auditory activity is present in most central brain regions and in neurons responsive to other modalities. Auditory responses are temporally diverse, but the majority of activity is tuned to courtship song features. Auditory responses are stereotyped across trials and animals in early mechanosensory regions, becoming more variable at higher layers of the putative pathway, and this variability is largely independent of ongoing movements. This study highlights the power of using an unbiased, brain-wide approach for mapping the functional organization of sensory activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego A Pacheco
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Stephan Y Thiberge
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics, Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Eftychios Pnevmatikakis
- Center for Computational Mathematics, Flatiron Institute, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mala Murthy
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
- Bezos Center for Neural Circuit Dynamics, Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
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26
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Kang B, Druckmann S. Approaches to inferring multi-regional interactions from simultaneous population recordings: Inferring multi-regional interactions from simultaneous population recordings. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 65:108-119. [PMID: 33227602 PMCID: PMC7853322 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.10.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Most past studies of neural representations and dynamics have focused on recordings from single brain areas. However, growing evidence of brain-wide, parallel representations of cognitive variables suggests that analyzing neural representations and dynamics in individual brain areas can benefit from understanding the context of multi-regional interactions that support them. Moreover, perturbation experiments revealed that the manner in which these parallel representations interact with each other can differ dramatically across different pairs of brain areas. Recent advances in recording technology offer a potentially powerful substrate to study how multi-regional interactions coordinate neural representations in individual brain areas and dictate behavior on a single-trial basis through simultaneous recordings of multiple brain areas. We review pragmatic approaches to studying multi-regional interactions and illustrate them in the concrete context of a rodent delayed response task paradigm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byungwoo Kang
- Dept. of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States; Physics Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States
| | - Shaul Druckmann
- Dept. of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
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27
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High Dietary Sugar Reshapes Sweet Taste to Promote Feeding Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. Cell Rep 2020; 27:1675-1685.e7. [PMID: 31067455 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.04.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2018] [Revised: 03/14/2019] [Accepted: 04/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies find that sugar tastes less intense to humans with obesity, but whether this sensory change is a cause or a consequence of obesity is unclear. To tackle this question, we study the effects of a high sugar diet on sweet taste sensation and feeding behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. On this diet, fruit flies have lower taste responses to sweet stimuli, overconsume food, and develop obesity. Excess dietary sugar, but not obesity or dietary sweetness alone, caused taste deficits and overeating via the cell-autonomous action of the sugar sensor O-linked N-Acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) transferase (OGT) in the sweet-sensing neurons. Correcting taste deficits by manipulating the excitability of the sweet gustatory neurons or the levels of OGT protected animals from diet-induced obesity. Our work demonstrates that the reshaping of sweet taste sensation by excess dietary sugar drives obesity and highlights the role of glucose metabolism in neural activity and behavior.
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28
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Scaplen KM, Talay M, Nunez KM, Salamon S, Waterman AG, Gang S, Song SL, Barnea G, Kaun KR. Circuits that encode and guide alcohol-associated preference. eLife 2020; 9:48730. [PMID: 32497004 PMCID: PMC7272191 DOI: 10.7554/elife.48730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2019] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
A powerful feature of adaptive memory is its inherent flexibility. Alcohol and other addictive substances can remold neural circuits important for memory to reduce this flexibility. However, the mechanism through which pertinent circuits are selected and shaped remains unclear. We show that circuits required for alcohol-associated preference shift from population level dopaminergic activation to select dopamine neurons that predict behavioral choice in Drosophila melanogaster. During memory expression, subsets of dopamine neurons directly and indirectly modulate the activity of interconnected glutamatergic and cholinergic mushroom body output neurons (MBON). Transsynaptic tracing of neurons important for memory expression revealed a convergent center of memory consolidation within the mushroom body (MB) implicated in arousal, and a structure outside the MB implicated in integration of naïve and learned responses. These findings provide a circuit framework through which dopamine neuronal activation shifts from reward delivery to cue onset, and provide insight into the maladaptive nature of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin M Scaplen
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Mustafa Talay
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Kavin M Nunez
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Sarah Salamon
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Amanda G Waterman
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Sydney Gang
- Department of Biochemistry, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Sophia L Song
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Gilad Barnea
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
| | - Karla R Kaun
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, United States
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29
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Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster, colloquially known as the fruit fly, is one of the most commonly used model organisms in scientific research. Although the final architecture of a fly and a human differs greatly, most of the fundamental biological mechanisms and pathways controlling development and survival are conserved through evolution between the two species. For this reason, Drosophila has been productively used as a model organism for over a century, to study a diverse range of biological processes, including development, learning, behavior and aging. Ca2+ signaling comprises complex pathways that impact on virtually every aspect of cellular physiology. Within such a complex field of study, Drosophila offers the advantages of consolidated molecular and genetic techniques, lack of genetic redundancy and a completely annotated genome since 2000. These and other characteristics provided the basis for the identification of many genes encoding Ca2+ signaling molecules and the disclosure of conserved Ca2+ signaling pathways. In this review, we will analyze the applications of Ca2+ imaging in the fruit fly model, highlighting in particular their impact on the study of normal brain function and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.
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30
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Sugar Promotes Feeding in Flies via the Serine Protease Homolog scarface. Cell Rep 2019; 24:3194-3206.e4. [PMID: 30232002 PMCID: PMC6167639 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2018.08.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 08/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
A balanced diet of macronutrients is critical for animal health. A lack of specific elements can have profound effects on behavior, reproduction, and lifespan. Here, we used Drosophila to understand how the brain responds to carbohydrate deprivation. We found that serine protease homologs (SPHs) are enriched among genes that are transcriptionally regulated in flies deprived of carbohydrates. Stimulation of neurons expressing one of these SPHs, Scarface (Scaf), or overexpression of scaf positively regulates feeding on nutritious sugars, whereas inhibition of these neurons or knockdown of scaf reduces feeding. This modulation of food intake occurs only in sated flies while hunger-induced feeding is unaffected. Furthermore, scaf expression correlates with the presence of sugar in the food. As Scaf and Scaf neurons promote feeding independent of the hunger state, and the levels of scaf are positively regulated by the presence of sugar, we conclude that scaf mediates the hedonic control of feeding. The fly brain responds to specific macronutrients via distinct signaling pathways Serine protease homologs act as neuromodulators under sugar deprivation Sugar is both necessary and sufficient to maintain expression levels of scarface Scarface and Scarface neurons mediate hedonic control of feeding in flies
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31
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Zhang J, Jin H, Zhang W, Ding C, O'Keeffe S, Ye M, Zuker CS. Sour Sensing from the Tongue to the Brain. Cell 2019; 179:392-402.e15. [PMID: 31543264 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.08.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The ability to sense sour provides an important sensory signal to prevent the ingestion of unripe, spoiled, or fermented foods. Taste and somatosensory receptors in the oral cavity trigger aversive behaviors in response to acid stimuli. Here, we show that the ion channel Otopetrin-1, a proton-selective channel normally involved in the sensation of gravity in the vestibular system, is essential for sour sensing in the taste system. We demonstrate that knockout of Otop1 eliminates acid responses from sour-sensing taste receptor cells (TRCs). In addition, we show that mice engineered to express otopetrin-1 in sweet TRCs have sweet cells that also respond to sour stimuli. Next, we genetically identified the taste ganglion neurons mediating each of the five basic taste qualities and demonstrate that sour taste uses its own dedicated labeled line from TRCs in the tongue to finely tuned taste neurons in the brain to trigger aversive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Zhang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Hao Jin
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Wenyi Zhang
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Cheng Ding
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Sean O'Keeffe
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Mingyu Ye
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Charles S Zuker
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Mortimer B. Zukerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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32
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Kaushik S, Kumar R, Kain P. Salt an Essential Nutrient: Advances in Understanding Salt Taste Detection Using Drosophila as a Model System. J Exp Neurosci 2018; 12:1179069518806894. [PMID: 30479487 PMCID: PMC6249657 DOI: 10.1177/1179069518806894] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Taste modalities are conserved in insects and mammals. Sweet gustatory signals evoke attractive behaviors while bitter gustatory information drive aversive behaviors. Salt (NaCl) is an essential nutrient required for various physiological processes, including electrolyte homeostasis, neuronal activity, nutrient absorption, and muscle contraction. Not only mammals, even in Drosophila melanogaster, the detection of NaCl induces two different behaviors: Low concentrations of NaCl act as an attractant, whereas high concentrations act as repellant. The fruit fly is an excellent model system for studying the underlying mechanisms of salt taste due to its relatively simple neuroanatomical organization of the brain and peripheral taste system, the availability of powerful genetic tools and transgenic strains. In this review, we have revisited the literature and the information provided by various laboratories using invertebrate model system Drosophila that has helped us to understand NaCl salt taste so far. We hope that this compiled information from Drosophila will be of general significance and interest for forthcoming studies of the structure, function, and behavioral role of NaCl-sensitive (low and high concentrations) gustatory circuitry for understanding NaCl salt taste in all animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shivam Kaushik
- Department of Neurobiology and Genetics, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, India
| | - Rahul Kumar
- Department of Neurobiology and Genetics, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, India.,Department of Biotechnology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, India
| | - Pinky Kain
- Department of Neurobiology and Genetics, Regional Centre for Biotechnology, NCR Biotech Science Cluster, Faridabad, India
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33
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Abstract
Understanding how activity patterns in specific neural circuits coordinate an animal’s behavior remains a key area of neuroscience research. Genetic tools and a brain of tractable complexity make Drosophila a premier model organism for these studies. Here, we review the wealth of reagents available to map and manipulate neuronal activity with light.
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34
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Mercier D, Tsuchimoto Y, Ohta K, Kazama H. Olfactory Landmark-Based Communication in Interacting Drosophila. Curr Biol 2018; 28:2624-2631.e5. [PMID: 30078566 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2018] [Revised: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 06/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
To communicate with conspecifics, animals deploy various strategies to release pheromones, chemical signals modulating social and sexual behaviors [1-5]. Importantly, a single pheromone induces different behaviors depending on the context and exposure dynamics [6-8]. Therefore, to comprehend the ethological role of pheromones, it is essential to characterize how neurons in the recipients respond to temporally and spatially fluctuating chemical signals emitted by donors during natural interactions. In Drosophila melanogaster, the male pheromone 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) [9] activates specific olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) [10, 11] to regulate diverse social and sexual behaviors in recipients [12-15]. Physicochemical analyses have identified this chemical on an animal's body [16, 17] and in its local environment [18, 19]. However, because these methods are imprecise in capturing spatiotemporal dynamics, it is poorly understood how individual pheromone cues are released, detected, and interpreted by recipients. Here, we developed a system based on bioluminescence to monitor neural activity in freely interacting Drosophila, and investigated the active detection and perception of the naturally emitted cVA. Unexpectedly, neurons specifically tuned to cVA did not exhibit significant activity during physical interactions between males, and instead responded strongly to olfactory landmarks deposited by males. These landmarks mediated attraction through Or67d receptors and allured both sexes to the marked region. Importantly, the landmarks remained attractive even when a pair of flies was engaged in courtship behavior. In contrast, female deposits did not affect the exploration pattern of either sex. Thus, Drosophila use pheromone marking to remotely signal their sexual identity and to enhance social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damien Mercier
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-Okubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
| | - Yoshiko Tsuchimoto
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Kazumi Ohta
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
| | - Hokto Kazama
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; RIKEN CBS-KAO Collaboration Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan; Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8902, Japan.
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35
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A subset of octopaminergic neurons that promotes feeding initiation in Drosophila melanogaster. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0198362. [PMID: 29949586 PMCID: PMC6021039 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 05/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Octopamine regulates feeding behavioral responses in Drosophila melanogaster, however the molecular and circuit mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated the role of a subset of octopaminergic neurons, the OA-VPM4 cluster, in sucrose acceptance behavior. Thermogenetic activation of Gal4 lines containing OA-VPM4 promoted proboscis extension to sucrose, while optogenetic inactivation reduced extension. Anatomically, the presynaptic terminals of OA-VPM4 are in close proximity to the axons of sugar-responsive gustatory sensory neurons. Moreover, RNAi knockdown of a specific class of octopamine receptor, OAMB, selectively in sugar-sensing gustatory neurons decreased the behavioral response to sucrose. By calcium imaging experiments, we found that application of octopamine potentiates sensory responses to sucrose in satiated flies. Taken together, these findings suggest a model by which OA-VPM4 promotes feeding behavior by modulating the activity of sensory neurons.
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36
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Abstract
Sleep is nearly ubiquitous throughout the animal kingdom, yet little is known about how ecological factors or perturbations to the environment shape the duration and timing of sleep. In diverse animal taxa, poor sleep negatively impacts development, cognitive abilities and longevity. In addition to mammals, sleep has been characterized in genetic model organisms, ranging from the nematode worm to zebrafish, and, more recently, in emergent models with simplified nervous systems such as Aplysia and jellyfish. In addition, evolutionary models ranging from fruit flies to cavefish have leveraged natural genetic variation to investigate the relationship between ecology and sleep. Here, we describe the contributions of classical and emergent genetic model systems to investigate mechanisms underlying sleep regulation. These studies highlight fundamental interactions between sleep and sensory processing, as well as a remarkable plasticity of sleep in response to environmental changes. Understanding how sleep varies throughout the animal kingdom will provide critical insight into fundamental functions and conserved genetic mechanisms underlying sleep regulation. Furthermore, identification of naturally occurring genetic variation regulating sleep may provide novel drug targets and approaches to treat sleep-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex C Keene
- Jupiter Life Science Initiative, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Erik R Duboue
- Jupiter Life Science Initiative, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
- Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
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37
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Patella P, Wilson RI. Functional Maps of Mechanosensory Features in the Drosophila Brain. Curr Biol 2018; 28:1189-1203.e5. [PMID: 29657118 PMCID: PMC5952606 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Johnston's organ is the largest mechanosensory organ in Drosophila. It contributes to hearing, touch, vestibular sensing, proprioception, and wind sensing. In this study, we used in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging and unsupervised image segmentation to map the tuning properties of Johnston's organ neurons (JONs) at the site where their axons enter the brain. We then applied the same methodology to study two key brain regions that process signals from JONs: the antennal mechanosensory and motor center (AMMC) and the wedge, which is downstream of the AMMC. First, we identified a diversity of JON response types that tile frequency space and form a rough tonotopic map. Some JON response types are direction selective; others are specialized to encode amplitude modulations over a specific range (dynamic range fractionation). Next, we discovered that both the AMMC and the wedge contain a tonotopic map, with a significant increase in tonotopy-and a narrowing of frequency tuning-at the level of the wedge. Whereas the AMMC tonotopic map is unilateral, the wedge tonotopic map is bilateral. Finally, we identified a subregion of the AMMC/wedge that responds preferentially to the coherent rotation of the two mechanical organs in the same angular direction, indicative of oriented steady air flow (directional wind). Together, these maps reveal the broad organization of the primary and secondary mechanosensory regions of the brain. They provide a framework for future efforts to identify the specific cell types and mechanisms that underlie the hierarchical re-mapping of mechanosensory information in this system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Patella
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Rachel I Wilson
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA.
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38
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Identification of a Single Pair of Interneurons for Bitter Taste Processing in the Drosophila Brain. Curr Biol 2018; 28:847-858.e3. [PMID: 29502953 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.01.084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Drosophila has become an excellent model system for investigating the organization and function of the gustatory system due to the relatively simple neuroanatomical organization of its brain and the availability of powerful genetic and transgenic technology. Thus, at the molecular and cellular levels, a great deal of insight into the peripheral detection and coding of gustatory information has already been attained. In contrast, much less is known about the central neural circuits that process this information and induce behaviorally appropriate motor output. Here, we combine functional behavioral tests with targeted transgene expression through specific driver lines to identify a single bilaterally homologous pair of bitter-sensitive interneurons that are located in the subesophageal zone of the brain. Anatomical and functional data indicate that these interneurons receive specific synaptic input from bitter-sensitive gustatory receptor neurons. Targeted transgenic activation and inactivation experiments show that these bitter-sensitive interneurons can largely suppress the proboscis extension reflex to appetitive stimuli, such as sugar and water. These functional experiments, together with calcium-imaging studies and calcium-modulated photoactivatable ratiometric integrator (CaMPARI) labeling, indicate that these first-order local interneurons play an important role in the inhibition of the proboscis extension reflex that occurs in response to bitter tastants. Taken together, our studies present a cellular identification and functional characterization of a key gustatory interneuron in the bitter-sensitive gustatory circuitry of the adult fly.
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39
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Abstract
The ability to identify nutrient-rich food and avoid toxic substances is essential for an animal's survival. Although olfaction and vision contribute to food detection, the gustatory system acts as a final checkpoint control for food acceptance or rejection. The vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster tastes many of the same stimuli as mammals and provides an excellent model system for comparative studies of taste detection. The relative simplicity of the fly brain and behaviors, along with the molecular genetic and functional approaches available in this system, allow the examination of gustatory neural circuits from sensory input to motor output. This review discusses the molecules and cells that detect taste compounds in the periphery and the circuits that process taste information in the brain. These studies are providing insight into how the detection of taste compounds regulates feeding decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720;
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40
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Kendroud S, Bohra AA, Kuert PA, Nguyen B, Guillermin O, Sprecher SG, Reichert H, VijayRaghavan K, Hartenstein V. Structure and development of the subesophageal zone of the Drosophila brain. II. Sensory compartments. J Comp Neurol 2018; 526:33-58. [PMID: 28875566 PMCID: PMC5971197 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Revised: 07/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The subesophageal zone (SEZ) of the Drosophila brain processes mechanosensory and gustatory sensory input from sensilla located on the head, mouth cavity and trunk. Motor output from the SEZ directly controls the movements involved in feeding behavior. In an accompanying paper (Hartenstein et al., ), we analyzed the systems of fiber tracts and secondary lineages to establish reliable criteria for defining boundaries between the four neuromeres of the SEZ, as well as discrete longitudinal neuropil domains within each SEZ neuromere. Here we use this anatomical framework to systematically map the sensory projections entering the SEZ throughout development. Our findings show continuity between larval and adult sensory neuropils. Gustatory axons from internal and external taste sensilla of the larva and adult form two closely related sensory projections, (a) the anterior central sensory center located deep in the ventromedial neuropil of the tritocerebrum and mandibular neuromere, and (b) the anterior ventral sensory center (AVSC), occupying a superficial layer within the ventromedial tritocerebrum. Additional, presumed mechanosensory terminal axons entering via the labial nerve define the ventromedial sensory center (VMSC) in the maxilla and labium. Mechanosensory afferents of the massive array of chordotonal organs (Johnston's organ) of the adult antenna project into the centrolateral neuropil column of the anterior SEZ, creating the antenno-mechanosensory and motor center (AMMC). Dendritic projections of dye back-filled motor neurons extend throughout a ventral layer of the SEZ, overlapping widely with the AVSC and VMSC. Our findings elucidate fundamental structural aspects of the developing sensory systems in Drosophila.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kendroud
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ali Asgar Bohra
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, India
| | | | - Bao Nguyen
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Oriane Guillermin
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Simon G. Sprecher
- Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | | | | | - Volker Hartenstein
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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41
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Abstract
Taste allows animals to discriminate the value and potential toxicity of food prior to ingestion. Many tastants elicit an innate attractive or avoidance response that is modifiable with nutritional state and prior experience. A powerful genetic tool kit, well-characterized gustatory system, and standardized behavioral assays make the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, an excellent system for investigating taste processing and memory. Recent studies have used this system to identify the neural basis for acquired taste preference. These studies have revealed a role for dopamine-mediated plasticity of the mushroom bodies that modulate the threshold of response to appetitive tastants. The identification of neural circuitry regulating taste memory provides a system to study the genetic and physiological processes that govern plasticity within a defined memory circuit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pavel Masek
- a Department of Biology , Binghamton University , Binghamton , NY , USA
| | - Alex C Keene
- b Department of Biological Sciences , Florida Atlantic University , Jupiter , FL , USA
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42
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Musso PY, Lampin-Saint-Amaux A, Tchenio P, Preat T. Ingestion of artificial sweeteners leads to caloric frustration memory in Drosophila. Nat Commun 2017; 8:1803. [PMID: 29180783 PMCID: PMC5703724 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-01989-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) are widely used in modern human food, raising the question about their health impact. Here we have asked whether NAS consumption is a neutral experience at neural and behavioral level, or if NAS can be interpreted and remembered as negative experience. We used behavioral and imaging approaches to demonstrate that Drosophila melanogaster learn the non-caloric property of NAS through post-ingestion process. These results show that sweet taste is predictive of an energy value, and its absence leads to the formation of what we call Caloric Frustration Memory (CFM) that devalues the NAS or its caloric enantiomer. CFM formation involves activity of the associative memory brain structure, the mushroom bodies (MBs). In vivo calcium imaging of MB-input dopaminergic neurons that respond to sugar showed a reduced response to NAS after CFM formation. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that NAS are a negative experience for the brain. While non-caloric artificial sweeteners (NAS) are used as food additives, it’s unclear whether animals perceive NAS as positive or negative percept. Here, Musso and colleagues show in Drosophila that NAS is a negative percept, encoded in a new type of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Yves Musso
- Genes and Dynamics of Memory Systems, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France.,Department of Zoology, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6T 1Z3
| | - Aurélie Lampin-Saint-Amaux
- Genes and Dynamics of Memory Systems, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Paul Tchenio
- Genes and Dynamics of Memory Systems, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France.,Laboratoire Aimé Cotton, CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, 91400, Orsay, France
| | - Thomas Preat
- Genes and Dynamics of Memory Systems, Brain Plasticity Unit, CNRS, ESPCI Paris, PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France.
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43
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Transsynaptic Mapping of Second-Order Taste Neurons in Flies by trans-Tango. Neuron 2017; 96:783-795.e4. [PMID: 29107518 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 143] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Revised: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 10/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Mapping neural circuits across defined synapses is essential for understanding brain function. Here we describe trans-Tango, a technique for anterograde transsynaptic circuit tracing and manipulation. At the core of trans-Tango is a synthetic signaling pathway that is introduced into all neurons in the animal. This pathway converts receptor activation at the cell surface into reporter expression through site-specific proteolysis. Specific labeling is achieved by presenting a tethered ligand at the synapses of genetically defined neurons, thereby activating the pathway in their postsynaptic partners and providing genetic access to these neurons. We first validated trans-Tango in the Drosophila olfactory system and then implemented it in the gustatory system, where projections beyond the first-order receptor neurons are not fully characterized. We identified putative second-order neurons within the sweet circuit that include projection neurons targeting known neuromodulation centers in the brain. These experiments establish trans-Tango as a flexible platform for transsynaptic circuit analysis.
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44
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Whole-Brain Calcium Imaging Reveals an Intrinsic Functional Network in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2017; 27:2389-2396.e4. [PMID: 28756955 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
A long-standing goal of neuroscience has been to understand how computations are implemented across large-scale brain networks. By correlating spontaneous activity during "resting states" [1], studies of intrinsic brain networks in humans have demonstrated a correspondence with task-related activation patterns [2], relationships to behavior [3], and alterations in processes such as aging [4] and brain disorders [5], highlighting the importance of resting-state measurements for understanding brain function. Here, we develop methods to measure intrinsic functional connectivity in Drosophila, a powerful model for the study of neural computation. Recent studies using calcium imaging have measured neural activity at high spatial and temporal resolution in zebrafish, Drosophila larvae, and worms [6-10]. For example, calcium imaging in the zebrafish brain recently revealed correlations between the midbrain and hindbrain, demonstrating the utility of measuring intrinsic functional connections in model organisms [8]. An important component of human connectivity research is the use of brain atlases to compare findings across individuals and studies [11]. An anatomical atlas of the central adult fly brain was recently described [12]; however, combining an atlas with whole-brain calcium imaging has yet to be performed in vivo in adult Drosophila. Here, we measure intrinsic functional connectivity in Drosophila by acquiring calcium signals from the central brain. We develop an alignment procedure to assign functional data to atlas regions and correlate activity between regions to generate brain networks. This work reveals a large-scale architecture for neural communication and provides a framework for using Drosophila to study functional brain networks.
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45
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King AN, Barber AF, Smith AE, Dreyer AP, Sitaraman D, Nitabach MN, Cavanaugh DJ, Sehgal A. A Peptidergic Circuit Links the Circadian Clock to Locomotor Activity. Curr Biol 2017; 27:1915-1927.e5. [PMID: 28669757 PMCID: PMC5698909 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.05.089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 05/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms by which clock neurons in the Drosophila brain confer an ∼24-hr rhythm onto locomotor activity are unclear, but involve the neuropeptide diuretic hormone 44 (DH44), an ortholog of corticotropin-releasing factor. Here we identified DH44 receptor 1 as the relevant receptor for rest:activity rhythms and mapped its site of action to hugin-expressing neurons in the subesophageal zone (SEZ). We traced a circuit that extends from Dh44-expressing neurons in the pars intercerebralis (PI) through hugin+ SEZ neurons to the ventral nerve cord. Hugin neuropeptide, a neuromedin U ortholog, also regulates behavioral rhythms. The DH44 PI-Hugin SEZ circuit controls circadian locomotor activity in a daily cycle but has minimal effect on feeding rhythms, suggesting that the circadian drive to feed can be separated from circadian locomotion. These findings define a linear peptidergic circuit that links the clock to motor outputs to modulate circadian control of locomotor activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna N King
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Annika F Barber
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Amelia E Smith
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA
| | - Austin P Dreyer
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA
| | - Divya Sitaraman
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of San Diego, San Diego, CA 92110, USA
| | - Michael N Nitabach
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Genetics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Daniel J Cavanaugh
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA
| | - Amita Sehgal
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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46
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Todd JG, Kain JS, de Bivort BL. Systematic exploration of unsupervised methods for mapping behavior. Phys Biol 2017; 14:015002. [PMID: 28166059 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/14/1/015002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
To fully understand the mechanisms giving rise to behavior, we need to be able to precisely measure it. When coupled with large behavioral data sets, unsupervised clustering methods offer the potential of unbiased mapping of behavioral spaces. However, unsupervised techniques to map behavioral spaces are in their infancy, and there have been few systematic considerations of all the methodological options. We compared the performance of seven distinct mapping methods in clustering a wavelet-transformed data set consisting of the x- and y-positions of the six legs of individual flies. Legs were automatically tracked by small pieces of fluorescent dye, while the fly was tethered and walking on an air-suspended ball. We find that there is considerable variation in the performance of these mapping methods, and that better performance is attained when clustering is done in higher dimensional spaces (which are otherwise less preferable because they are hard to visualize). High dimensionality means that some algorithms, including the non-parametric watershed cluster assignment algorithm, cannot be used. We developed an alternative watershed algorithm which can be used in high-dimensional spaces when a probability density estimate can be computed directly. With these tools in hand, we examined the behavioral space of fly leg postural dynamics and locomotion. We find a striking division of behavior into modes involving the fore legs and modes involving the hind legs, with few direct transitions between them. By computing behavioral clusters using the data from all flies simultaneously, we show that this division appears to be common to all flies. We also identify individual-to-individual differences in behavior and behavioral transitions. Lastly, we suggest a computational pipeline that can achieve satisfactory levels of performance without the taxing computational demands of a systematic combinatorial approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy G Todd
- Center for Brain Science and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Rowland Institute at Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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47
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Kim H, Kirkhart C, Scott K. Long-range projection neurons in the taste circuit of Drosophila. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28164781 PMCID: PMC5310837 DOI: 10.7554/elife.23386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2016] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Taste compounds elicit innate feeding behaviors and act as rewards or punishments to entrain other cues. The neural pathways by which taste compounds influence innate and learned behaviors have not been resolved. Here, we identify three classes of taste projection neurons (TPNs) in Drosophila melanogaster distinguished by their morphology and taste selectivity. TPNs receive input from gustatory receptor neurons and respond selectively to sweet or bitter stimuli, demonstrating segregated processing of different taste modalities. Activation of TPNs influences innate feeding behavior, whereas inhibition has little effect, suggesting parallel pathways. Moreover, two TPN classes are absolutely required for conditioned taste aversion, a learned behavior. The TPNs essential for conditioned aversion project to the superior lateral protocerebrum (SLP) and convey taste information to mushroom body learning centers. These studies identify taste pathways from sensory detection to higher brain that influence innate behavior and are essential for learned responses to taste compounds. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.23386.001
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Affiliation(s)
- Heesoo Kim
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Colleen Kirkhart
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
| | - Kristin Scott
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States.,Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, United States
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48
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Abstract
Feeding is arguably one of the most well-conserved and important adaptive behaviors across all species. In this issue of Cell, Yapici et al. use a novel real-time feeding assay in Drosophila flies to identify a neural circuit that integrates gustatory input and hunger state to modulate food ingestion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus L Basiri
- Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Garret D Stuber
- Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
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49
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Asparch Y, Pontes G, Masagué S, Minoli S, Barrozo RB. Kissing bugs can generalize and discriminate between different bitter compounds. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2016; 110:99-106. [PMID: 27865772 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2016.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2016] [Revised: 11/09/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Animals make use of contact chemoreception structures to examine the quality of potential food sources. During this evaluation they can detect nutritious compounds that promote feeding and recognize toxins that trigger evasive behaviors. Although animals can easily distinguish between stimuli of different gustatory qualities (bitter, salty, sweet, etc.), their ability to discriminate between compounds of the same quality may be limited. Numerous plants produce alkaloids, compounds that elicit aversive behaviors in phytophagous insects and almost uniformly evoke a bitter taste for man. In hematophagous insects, however, the effect of feeding deterrent molecules has been barely studied. Recent studies showed that feeding in Rhodnius prolixus can be negatively modulated by the presence of alkaloids such as quinine (QUI) and caffeine (CAF), compounds that elicit similar aversive responses. Here, we applied associative and non-associative learning paradigms to examine under two behavioral contexts the ability of R. prolixus to distinguish, discriminate and/or generalize between these two bitter compounds, QUI and CAF. Our results show that bugs innately repelled by bitter compounds can change their behavior from avoidance to indifference or even to preference according to their previous experiences. After an aversive operant conditioning with QUI or CAF, R. prolixus modified its behavior in a direct but also in a cross-compound manner, suggesting the occurrence of a generalization process between these two alkaloids. Conversely, after a long pre-exposure to each alkaloid, bugs decreased their avoidance to the compound used during pre-exposure but still expressed an avoidance of the novel compound, proving that QUI and CAF are detected separately. Our results suggest that R. prolixus is able to discriminate between QUI and CAF, although after an associative conditioning they express a symmetrical cross-generalization. This kind of studies adds insight into the gustatory sense of a blood-sucking model but also into the learning abilities of hematophagous insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamila Asparch
- Laboratorio Fisiología de Insectos, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, DBBE, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Gina Pontes
- Laboratorio Fisiología de Insectos, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, DBBE, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Santiago Masagué
- Laboratorio Fisiología de Insectos, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, DBBE, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sebastian Minoli
- Laboratorio Fisiología de Insectos, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, DBBE, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Romina B Barrozo
- Laboratorio Fisiología de Insectos, IBBEA, CONICET-UBA, DBBE, Facultad Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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50
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Shorter JR, Dembeck LM, Everett LJ, Morozova TV, Arya GH, Turlapati L, St Armour GE, Schal C, Mackay TFC, Anholt RRH. Obp56h Modulates Mating Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. G3 (BETHESDA, MD.) 2016; 6:3335-3342. [PMID: 27558663 PMCID: PMC5068952 DOI: 10.1534/g3.116.034595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions in insects are driven by conspecific chemical signals that are detected via olfactory and gustatory neurons. Odorant binding proteins (Obps) transport volatile odorants to chemosensory receptors, but their effects on behaviors remain poorly characterized. Here, we report that RNAi knockdown of Obp56h gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster enhances mating behavior by reducing courtship latency. The change in mating behavior that results from inhibition of Obp56h expression is accompanied by significant alterations in cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) composition, including reduction in 5-tricosene (5-T), an inhibitory sex pheromone produced by males that increases copulation latency during courtship. Whole genome RNA sequencing confirms that expression of Obp56h is virtually abolished in Drosophila heads. Inhibition of Obp56h expression also affects expression of other chemoreception genes, including upregulation of lush in both sexes and Obp83ef in females, and reduction in expression of Obp19b and Or19b in males. In addition, several genes associated with lipid metabolism, which underlies the production of cuticular hydrocarbons, show altered transcript abundances. Our data show that modulation of mating behavior through reduction of Obp56h is accompanied by altered cuticular hydrocarbon profiles and implicate 5-T as a possible ligand for Obp56h.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R Shorter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Lauren M Dembeck
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Logan J Everett
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Tatiana V Morozova
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Gunjan H Arya
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Lavanya Turlapati
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Genevieve E St Armour
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Coby Schal
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Trudy F C Mackay
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
| | - Robert R H Anholt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Program in Genetics and W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
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