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Ye C, Behnke JA, Hardin KR, Zheng JQ. Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study age and sex differences in brain injury and neurodegeneration after mild head trauma. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1150694. [PMID: 37077318 PMCID: PMC10106652 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1150694] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Repetitive physical insults to the head, including those that elicit mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), are a known risk factor for a variety of neurodegenerative conditions including Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Although most individuals who sustain mTBI typically achieve a seemingly full recovery within a few weeks, a subset experience delayed-onset symptoms later in life. As most mTBI research has focused on the acute phase of injury, there is an incomplete understanding of mechanisms related to the late-life emergence of neurodegeneration after early exposure to mild head trauma. The recent adoption of Drosophila-based brain injury models provides several unique advantages over existing preclinical animal models, including a tractable framework amenable to high-throughput assays and short relative lifespan conducive to lifelong mechanistic investigation. The use of flies also provides an opportunity to investigate important risk factors associated with neurodegenerative conditions, specifically age and sex. In this review, we survey current literature that examines age and sex as contributing factors to head trauma-mediated neurodegeneration in humans and preclinical models, including mammalian and Drosophila models. We discuss similarities and disparities between human and fly in aging, sex differences, and pathophysiology. Finally, we highlight Drosophila as an effective tool for investigating mechanisms underlying head trauma-induced neurodegeneration and for identifying therapeutic targets for treatment and recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changtian Ye
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Joseph A. Behnke
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Katherine R. Hardin
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - James Q. Zheng
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
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Pasquier C, Robichon A. Temporal and sequential order of nonoverlapping gene networks unraveled in mated female Drosophila. Life Sci Alliance 2021; 5:5/2/e202101119. [PMID: 34844981 PMCID: PMC8645335 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202101119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mating triggers successive waves of temporal transcriptomic changes within independent gene networks in female Drosophila, suggesting a recruitment of interconnected modules that vanish in late life. In this study, we reanalyzed available datasets of gene expression changes in female Drosophila head induced by mating. Mated females present metabolic phenotypic changes and display behavioral characteristics that are not observed in virgin females, such as repulsion to male sexual aggressiveness, fidelity to food spots selected for oviposition, and restriction to the colonization of new niches. We characterize gene networks that play a role in female brain plasticity after mating using AMINE, a novel algorithm to find dysregulated modules of interacting genes. The uncovered networks of altered genes revealed a strong specificity for each successive period of life span after mating in the female head, with little conservation between them. This finding highlights a temporal order of recruitment of waves of interconnected genes which are apparently transiently modified: the first wave disappears before the emergence of the second wave in a reversible manner and ends with few consolidated gene expression changes at day 20. This analysis might document an extended field of a programmatic control of female phenotypic traits by male seminal fluid.
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Klose MK, Shaw PJ. Sleep drive reconfigures wake-promoting clock circuitry to regulate adaptive behavior. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001324. [PMID: 34191802 PMCID: PMC8277072 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Circadian rhythms help animals synchronize motivated behaviors to match environmental demands. Recent evidence indicates that clock neurons influence the timing of behavior by differentially altering the activity of a distributed network of downstream neurons. Downstream circuits can be remodeled by Hebbian plasticity, synaptic scaling, and, under some circumstances, activity-dependent addition of cell surface receptors; the role of this receptor respecification phenomena is not well studied. We demonstrate that high sleep pressure quickly reprograms the wake-promoting large ventrolateral clock neurons to express the pigment dispersing factor receptor (PDFR). The addition of this signaling input into the circuit is associated with increased waking and early mating success. The respecification of PDFR in both young and adult large ventrolateral neurons requires 2 dopamine (DA) receptors and activation of the transcriptional regulator nejire (cAMP response element-binding protein [CREBBP]). These data identify receptor respecification as an important mechanism to sculpt circuit function to match sleep levels with demand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus K. Klose
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
| | - Paul J. Shaw
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Jin X, Tian Y, Zhang ZC, Gu P, Liu C, Han J. A subset of DN1p neurons integrates thermosensory inputs to promote wakefulness via CNMa signaling. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2075-2087.e6. [PMID: 33740429 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Sleep is an essential and evolutionarily conserved behavior that is modulated by many environmental factors. Ambient temperature shifting usually occurs during climatic or seasonal change or travel from high-latitude area to low-latitude area that affects animal physiology. Increasing ambient temperature modulates sleep in both humans and Drosophila. Although several thermosensory molecules and neurons have been identified, the neural mechanisms that integrate temperature sensation into the sleep neural circuit remain poorly understood. Here, we reveal that prolonged increasing of ambient temperature induces a reversible sleep reduction and impaired sleep consolidation in Drosophila via activating the internal thermosensory anterior cells (ACs). ACs form synaptic contacts with a subset of posterior dorsal neuron 1 (DN1p) neurons and release acetylcholine to promote wakefulness. Furthermore, we identify that this subset of DN1ps promotes wakefulness by releasing CNMamide (CNMa) neuropeptides to inhibit the Dh44-positive pars intercerebralis (PI) neurons through CNMa receptors. Our study demonstrates that the AC-DN1p-PI neural circuit is responsible for integrating thermosensory inputs into the sleep neural circuit. Moreover, we identify the CNMa signaling pathway as a newly recognized wakefulness-promoting DN1 pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi Jin
- School of Life Science and Technology, the Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Yao Tian
- School of Life Science and Technology, the Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Zi Chao Zhang
- School of Life Science and Technology, the Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Pengyu Gu
- School of Life Science and Technology, the Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Chang Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China; Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Junhai Han
- School of Life Science and Technology, the Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, 2 Sipailou Road, Nanjing 210096, China; Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong University, Nantong 226021, China.
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The Drosophila Post-mating Response: Gene Expression and Behavioral Changes Reveal Perdurance and Variation in Cross-Tissue Interactions. G3-GENES GENOMES GENETICS 2020; 10:967-983. [PMID: 31907222 PMCID: PMC7056969 DOI: 10.1534/g3.119.400963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Examining cross-tissue interactions is important for understanding physiology and homeostasis. In animals, the female gonad produces signaling molecules that act distally. We examine gene expression in Drosophila melanogaster female head tissues in 1) virgins without a germline compared to virgins with a germline, 2) post-mated females with and without a germline compared to virgins, and 3) post-mated females mated to males with and without a germline compared to virgins. In virgins, the absence of a female germline results in expression changes in genes with known roles in nutrient homeostasis. At one- and three-day(s) post-mating, genes that change expression are enriched with those that function in metabolic pathways, in all conditions. We systematically examine female post-mating impacts on sleep, food preference and re-mating, in the strains and time points used for gene expression analyses and compare to published studies. We show that post-mating, gene expression changes vary by strain, prompting us to examine variation in female re-mating. We perform a genome-wide association study that identifies several DNA polymorphisms, including four in/near Wnt signaling pathway genes. Together, these data reveal how gene expression and behavior in females are influenced by cross-tissue interactions, by examining the impact of mating, fertility, and genotype.
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McKelvey EG, Fabre CC. Recent neurogenetic findings in insect courtship behaviour. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 36:103-110. [PMID: 31546094 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2019.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2019] [Revised: 07/30/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Insect courtship parades consist of series of innate and stereotyped behaviours that become hardwired-in during the development of the nervous system. As such, insect courtship behaviour provides an excellent model for probing the principles of neuronal assembly, which underlie patterns of behaviour. Here, we present the main advances of recent studies - in species all the way from flies to planthoppers - and we envisage how these could lead to further propitious findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleanor Gz McKelvey
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Cg Fabre
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.
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Shao L, Chung P, Wong A, Siwanowicz I, Kent CF, Long X, Heberlein U. A Neural Circuit Encoding the Experience of Copulation in Female Drosophila. Neuron 2019; 102:1025-1036.e6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2018] [Revised: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Geissmann Q, Beckwith EJ, Gilestro GF. Most sleep does not serve a vital function: Evidence from Drosophila melanogaster. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau9253. [PMID: 30801012 PMCID: PMC6382397 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau9253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Sleep appears to be a universally conserved phenomenon among the animal kingdom, but whether this notable evolutionary conservation underlies a basic vital function is still an open question. Using a machine learning-based video-tracking technology, we conducted a detailed high-throughput analysis of sleep in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, coupled with a lifelong chronic and specific sleep restriction. Our results show that some wild-type flies are virtually sleepless in baseline conditions and that complete, forced sleep restriction is not necessarily a lethal treatment in wild-type D. melanogaster. We also show that circadian drive, and not homeostatic regulation, is the main contributor to sleep pressure in flies. These results offer a new perspective on the biological role of sleep in Drosophila and, potentially, in other species.
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Isaac RE. The Effect of Mating and the Male Sex Peptide on Group Behaviour of Post-mated Female Drosophila melanogaster. Neurochem Res 2019; 44:1508-1516. [PMID: 30661229 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-019-02722-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2018] [Revised: 01/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- R Elwyn Isaac
- School of Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
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Asahina K. Sex differences in Drosophila behavior: Qualitative and Quantitative Dimorphism. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 6:35-45. [PMID: 30386833 PMCID: PMC6205217 DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
The importance of sex as a biological variable is being recognized by more and more researchers, including those using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. Differences between the two sexes are not confined to well-known reproductive behaviors, but include other behaviors and physiological characteristics that are considered "common" to both sexes. It is possible to categorize sexual dimorphisms into "qualitative" and "quantitative" differences, and this review focuses on recent advances in elucidating genetic and neurophysiological basis of both qualitative and quantitative sex differences in Drosophila behavior. While sex-specific behaviors are often mediated by sexually dimorphic neural circuits, quantitative sexual dimorphism is caused by sex-specific modulation of a common neuronal substrate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Asahina
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, 10010 North Torrey Pines Road, MNL-KA, La Jolla, California 92037, United States of America
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Singh A, Buehner NA, Lin H, Baranowski KJ, Findlay GD, Wolfner MF. Long-term interaction between Drosophila sperm and sex peptide is mediated by other seminal proteins that bind only transiently to sperm. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2018; 102:43-51. [PMID: 30217614 PMCID: PMC6249070 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2018.09.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 08/28/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Seminal fluid proteins elicit several post-mating physiological changes in mated Drosophila melanogaster females. Some of these changes persist for over a week after mating because the seminal protein that causes these changes, the Sex Peptide (SP), binds to sperm that are stored in the female reproductive tract. SP's sperm binding is mediated by a network of at least eight seminal proteins. We show here that some of these network proteins (CG1656, CG1652, CG9997 and Antares) bind to sperm within 2 h of mating, like SP. However, while SP remains bound to sperm at 4 days post-mating, none of the other network proteins are detectable at this time. We also observed that the same network proteins are detectable at 2 h post-mating in seminal receptacle tissue from which sperm have been removed, but are no longer detectable there by 4 days post-mating, suggesting short-term retention of these proteins in this female sperm storage organ. Our results suggest that these network proteins act transiently to facilitate the conditions for SP's binding to sperm, perhaps by modifying SP or the sperm surface, but are not part of a long-acting complex that stably attaches SP to sperm.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akanksha Singh
- Dept. of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Norene A Buehner
- Dept. of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - He Lin
- Dept. of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA; East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | | | - Geoffrey D Findlay
- Dept. of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA; Dept. of Biology, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, 01610, USA
| | - Mariana F Wolfner
- Dept. of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA.
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Billeter JC, Wolfner MF. Chemical Cues that Guide Female Reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster. J Chem Ecol 2018; 44:750-769. [PMID: 29557077 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-018-0947-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2017] [Revised: 02/21/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Chemicals released into the environment by food, predators and conspecifics play critical roles in Drosophila reproduction. Females and males live in an environment full of smells, whose molecules communicate to them the availability of food, potential mates, competitors or predators. Volatile chemicals derived from fruit, yeast growing on the fruit, and flies already present on the fruit attract Drosophila, concentrating flies at food sites, where they will also mate. Species-specific cuticular hydrocarbons displayed on female Drosophila as they mature are sensed by males and act as pheromones to stimulate mating by conspecific males and inhibit heterospecific mating. The pheromonal profile of a female is also responsive to her nutritional environment, providing an honest signal of her fertility potential. After mating, cuticular and semen hydrocarbons transferred by the male change the female's chemical profile. These molecules make the female less attractive to other males, thus protecting her mate's sperm investment. Females have evolved the capacity to counteract this inhibition by ejecting the semen hydrocarbon (along with the rest of the remaining ejaculate) a few hours after mating. Although this ejection can temporarily restore the female's attractiveness, shortly thereafter another male pheromone, a seminal peptide, decreases the female's propensity to re-mate, thus continuing to protect the male's investment. Females use olfaction and taste sensing to select optimal egg-laying sites, integrating cues for the availability of food for her offspring, and the presence of other flies and of harmful species. We argue that taking into account evolutionary considerations such as sexual conflict, and the ecological conditions in which flies live, is helpful in understanding the role of highly species-specific pheromones and blends thereof, as well as an individual's response to the chemical cues in its environment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariana F Wolfner
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.
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