6 These authors contributed equally to this work. 2 Aversive olfactory memory is formed in the Drosophila mushroom bodies (MB).Memory retrieval requires MB output, but it remains unknown how a memory trace in the MB drives conditioned avoidance of a learned odour. To identify neurons involved in olfactory memory retrieval, we performed an anatomical and functional screen of defined sets of MB extrinsic neurons. Here we show that MB-V2 neurons are essential for retrieval of both short-and long-lasting memory, but neither for memory formation nor for memory consolidation. We further show that MB-V2 are cholinergic efferent neurons that project from the MB vertical lobes to the middle superiormedial protocerebrum and the lateral horn (LH). Notably, the odour response of MB-V2 neurons is modified after conditioning. As the LH is implicated in innate responses to repellent odorants, we propose that during memory retrieval, MB-V2 neurons reinforce the olfactory pathway involved in innate odour avoidance.Different odours induce innate approach or avoidance behaviours in Drosophila. Innate odour responses can be modulated by experience, such as associative learning. After simultaneous exposure to an electric shock and an odorant, flies form aversive memory and show robust conditioned odour avoidance that lasts for hours to days, depending on the training protocol [1][2][3] . The neural pathways for odour or shock processing and signal integration in the fly brain have been intensely studied in recent years. Odour information is first represented in the antennal lobes in the form of olfactory receptor neuron activity 4 . Projection neurons then convey this information to higher order processing centres 4 : the mushroom bodies (MB) and the lateral horn (LH). In contrast, aversive reinforcement signals in response to electric shock are relayed to the MB via dopaminergic neurons [5][6][7] . The olfactory and 3 electric shock signals are integrated in the MB to form aversive olfactory memory 1, 2 . The MB are however dispensable for innate avoidance of the repellent odours 8,9 .In adult Drosophila, the MB consist of approximately 2000 Kenyon cells per brain hemisphere, which may be classified into three major types based on their axonal projection: γ neurons, which form only a medial lobe, α/β neurons, whose axons branch to form a vertical (α) and a medial (β) lobe, and α'/β' neurons, which also form a vertical (α') and a medial (β') lobe 10 . Functional brain imaging has revealed localised activation of cAMP/PKA signalling in the MB α lobe in response to simultaneous cholinergic and dopaminergic stimulation 11,12 , that represent respectively the odorant and electric shock pathways.Following associative conditioning, calcium imaging studies have shown that a short-term memory trace is formed in the α'/β' neurons 13, and a long-term one in α lobes 14 . Previous studies have shown that the output of the α/β neurons is necessary for the retrieval of all phases of olfactory memory 15,16 , but the neural circuits that translate ...
Finding food sources is essential for survival. Insects detect nutrients with external taste receptor neurons. Drosophila possesses multiple taste organs that are distributed throughout its body. However, the role of different taste organs in feeding remains poorly understood. By blocking subsets of sweet taste receptor neurons, we show that receptor neurons in the legs are required for immediate sugar choice. Furthermore, we identify two anatomically distinct classes of sweet taste receptor neurons in the leg. The axonal projections of one class terminate in the thoracic ganglia, whereas the other projects directly to the brain. These two classes are functionally distinct: the brain-projecting neurons are involved in feeding initiation, whereas the thoracic ganglia-projecting neurons play a role in sugar-dependent suppression of locomotion. Distinct receptor neurons for the same taste quality may coordinate early appetitive responses, taking advantage of the legs as the first appendages to contact food.
The crystal structures of the C57A and V13G molecular variants of Allochromatium vinosum 2[4Fe-4S] ferredoxin (AlvinFd) and that of the homologous ferredoxin from Escherichia coli (EcFd) have been determined at 1.05-, 1.48-, and 1.65-A resolution, respectively. The present structures combined with cyclic voltammetry studies establish clear effects of the degree of exposure of the cluster with the lowest reduction potential (cluster I) towards less negative reduction potentials (E degrees ). This is better illustrated by V13G AlvinFd (high exposure, E degrees = -594 mV) and EcFd (low exposure, E degrees = -675 mV). In C57A AlvinFd, the movement of the protein backbone, as a result of replacing the noncoordinating Cys57 by Ala, leads to a +50-mV upshift of the potential of the nearby cluster I, by removal of polar interactions involving the thiolate group and adjustment of the hydrogen-bond network involving the cluster atoms. In addition, the present structures and other previously reported accurate structures of this family of ferredoxins indicate that polar interactions of side chains and water molecules with cluster II sulfur atoms, which are absent in the environment of cluster I, are correlated to the approximately 180-250 mV difference between the reduction potentials of clusters I and II. These findings provide insight into the significant effects of subtle structural differences of the protein and solvent environment around the clusters of [4Fe-4S] ferredoxins on their electrochemical properties.
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