Auditory circuit in the
            <i>Drosophila</i>
            brain

Lai, Jason Sih-Yu; Lo, Shih-Jie; Dickson, Barry J.; Chiang, Ann‐Shyn

doi:10.1073/pnas.1117307109

Cited by 93 publications

(142 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…NTL is expressed primarily in the central interneurons that extensively innervate the ventrolateral protocerebrum (VLP), where olfactory, gustatory, auditory, and visual pathways converge (27)(28)(29)(30). Thus, we examined the role of NTL and NTL-expressing neurons in mating behavior, which requires flies to integrate and coordinate virtually all sensory modalities to execute multiple motor programs.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natalisin, a tachykinin-like signaling system, regulates sexual activity and fecundity in insects

Jiang

Lkhagva

Daubnerová

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

166

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An arthropod-specific peptidergic system, the neuropeptide designated here as natalisin and its receptor, was identified and investigated in three holometabolous insect species: Drosophila melanogaster, Tribolium castaneum, and Bombyx mori. In all three species, natalisin expression was observed in 3-4 pairs of the brain neurons: the anterior dorso-lateral interneurons, inferior contralateral interneurons, and small pars intercerebralis neurons. In B. mori, natalisin also was expressed in two additional pairs of contralateral interneurons in the subesophageal ganglion. Natalisin-RNAi and the activation or silencing of the neural activities in the natalisin-specific cells in D. melanogaster induced significant defects in the mating behaviors of both males and females. Knockdown of natalisin expression in T. castaneum resulted in significant reduction in the fecundity. The similarity of the natalisin C-terminal motifs to those of vertebrate tachykinins and of tachykinin-related peptides in arthropods led us to identify the natalisin receptor. A G protein-coupled receptor, previously known as tachykinin receptor 86C (also known as the neurokinin K receptor of D. melanogaster), now has been recognized as a bona fide natalisin receptor. Taken together, the taxonomic distribution pattern of the natalisin gene and the phylogeny of the receptor suggest that natalisin is an ancestral sibling of tachykinin that evolved only in the arthropod lineage.N europeptides are ancestral signaling molecules that function as cell-cell communication mediators in multicellular organisms. Large numbers of diverse neuropeptides are involved in the control of animal behavior, development, and physiology. Recent genomic approaches have revealed diverse groups of neuropeptides in different taxa, based on similarities in the amino acid sequences to neuropeptides discovered in earlier physiological and anatomical studies (1-4). Sequenced genomes of many insect species (5) provide an opportunity to explore the evolutionary processes of neuropeptides and their receptors. Furthermore, the tools available in biotechnology that are readily applicable in suitable insect model species have advanced our understanding of the functions of neuropeptides. Drosophila melanogaster has been the best model system, allowing functional studies of neuropeptides and their receptors by the use of highly advanced molecular genetic tools and various publicly available resources (6). A number of other insect species, especially those with sequenced genomes, such as Bombyx mori and Tribolium castaneum, also have been used for investigations into the functions of neuropeptide signals, using piggyBac transformation (7) and RNAi (8,9).Previous studies on insect neuropeptides and their G proteincoupled receptors (GPCRs) have described tachykinin-related peptides (TRPs) and two GPCRs as the receptors for the TRPs in D. melanogaster and other insect species (10-14). In vertebrates tachykinin and the TRPs form a group of ancestral neuropeptides that are found in a wide rang...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natalisin, a tachykinin-like signaling system, regulates sexual activity and fecundity in insects

Jiang

Lkhagva

Daubnerová

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

166

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“…Given that our knowledge of higher-order auditory neurons in the Drosophila brain is limited (Lai et al, 2012;Zhou et al, 2014), the utility of our decoder model is that it posits simple algorithms for transforming the auditory codes of AMMC/VLP neurons into behavioral responses to courtship song. We propose that an AMMC/VLP neuron is read out by two downstream neurons.…”

Section: Linking Computations In the Auditory Pathway With Female Behmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ipsilateral/contralateral defined with respect to soma position. 2 Lai et al 2012. 3 Vaughan et al 2014 …”

Section: Supplementary Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The two major populations of sound-responsive JONs terminate in AMMC zones A and B Yorozu et al, 2009). Recent studies have mapped several of the central neurons that innervate these zones (Lai et al, 2012;Vaughan et al, 2014), and have found that most project to a nearby neuropil termed the ventrolateral protocerebrum (VLP). Projections from the VLP to other brain regions remain uncharacterized (but see Yu et al (2010)).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Connecting Neural Codes with Behavior in the Auditory System of Drosophila

Clemens¹,

Girardin²,

Coen³

et al. 2018

Neuron

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SummaryBrains are optimized for processing ethologically relevant sensory signals. However, few studies have characterized the neural coding mechanisms that underlie the transformation from natural sensory information to behavior. Here, we focus on acoustic communication in Drosophila melanogaster, and use computational modeling to link natural courtship song, neuronal codes, and female behavioral responses to song. We show that melanogaster females are sensitive to long timescale song structure (on the order of tens of seconds). From intracellular recordings, we generate models that recapitulate neural responses to acoustic stimuli. We link these neural codes with female behavior by generating model neural responses to natural courtship song. Using a simple decoder, we predict female behavioral responses to the same song stimuli with high accuracy. Our modeling approach reveals how long timescale song features are represented by the Drosophila brain, and how neural representations can be decoded to generate behavioral selectivity for acoustic communication signals.

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“…The cell bodies of the identified 5HT-PLP neurons and their axons are located close to the posterior surface of the brain, while their projections are directed anteriorly to form three distinct arborization zones: one in the ventrolateral protocerebrum; a second in close proximity to the fan-shaped body of the central complex; and a third around the peduncles of the mushroom body near the ellipsoid body of the central complex ( Figure 1A). The densest arborization is in the ventrolateral protocerebrum, a region previously characterized as an integrative center for auditory, 15 visual, 16 and olfactory information processing. 17 More recently, this region also has been found to be important for courtship.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%