Nociceptive Neurons Protect Drosophila Larvae from Parasitoid Wasps

Hwang, Richard Y.; Zhong, Lixian; Xu, Yifan; Johnson, T. W.; Zhang, Feng; Deisseroth, Karl; Tracey, W. Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2007.12.018

Cited by 53 publications

(83 citation statements)

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“…[14][15][16] Dendrite microtubule architecture differs between neuron types 15,[17][18][19][20] in order to support the specific functional requirements of each type. We illustrate that here for the specialized dendrites of class IV nociceptive 21 and class I proprioceptive 22 Drosophila body wall neurons. The dendrites of these two neuron types have very different microtubule configurations and microtubule densities, features which reflect their differing sensory modalities (Fig.…”

mentioning

confidence: 80%

Microtubule nucleation and organization in dendrites

2016

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mentioning

confidence: 80%

Microtubule nucleation and organization in dendrites

2016

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“…Distinct peripheral sensory pathways for warm and cold avoidance that start in the fly antenna and project to the adult central brain, also to a region ventral to the antennal lobe, have now been identified (9,37), as well as a distinct internal sensory pathway involving the anterior cell warmth sensors in the fly brain (10). The molecules, cells, and circuits for negative thermotaxis in Drosophila larva remain poorly understood, except at noxious temperatures (18,38), and we have not yet identified circuits for negative thermotaxis (warm avoidance). Evaluating these possibilities will require more extensive mapping of thermosensory neurons and thermotaxis circuits in the larva.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory determinants of behavioral dynamics in Drosophila thermotaxis

Klein

Afonso

Vonner

et al. 2014

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

151

206

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Complex animal behaviors are built from dynamical relationships between sensory inputs, neuronal activity, and motor outputs in patterns with strategic value. Connecting these patterns illuminates how nervous systems compute behavior. Here, we study Drosophila larva navigation up temperature gradients toward preferred temperatures (positive thermotaxis). By tracking the movements of animals responding to fixed spatial temperature gradients or random temperature fluctuations, we calculate the sensitivity and dynamics of the conversion of thermosensory inputs into motor responses. We discover three thermosensory neurons in each dorsal organ ganglion (DOG) that are required for positive thermotaxis. Random optogenetic stimulation of the DOG thermosensory neurons evokes behavioral patterns that mimic the response to temperature variations. In vivo calcium and voltage imaging reveals that the DOG thermosensory neurons exhibit activity patterns with sensitivity and dynamics matched to the behavioral response. Temporal processing of temperature variations carried out by the DOG thermosensory neurons emerges in distinct motor responses during thermotaxis. N avigation toward environmental conditions that improve survival and fitness is of near-universal importance in motile biological organisms. Quantitative analysis of such animal behaviors to defined sensory inputs is a powerful approach to elucidate how behavior is encoded in underlying neurons and circuits. The advantage of studying navigation in small, optically transparent, genetically modifiable animals like Caenorhabditis elegans (1) or Drosophila larvae (2) is the opportunity to dissect sensory, neuronal, and behavioral dynamics in live animals by using optical neurophysiology and optogenetics throughout the nervous system.The Drosophila melanogaster larva navigates gradients of many sensory cues, including light, temperature, odors, and tastes, but with fewer neurons in its sensory periphery and brain than the adult. Moreover, the simpler body plan and crawling movements of the larva facilitate the precise quantification of behavioral dynamics. Poikilotherms like C. elegans or Drosophila use sensitive thermosensory mechanisms to navigate moderate temperature ranges, thereby enabling them to use their environments to regulate their own body temperatures (3, 4). Here, we study sensory and behavioral dynamics during positive thermotaxis (i.e., cool avoidance) by the Drosophila larva. Tracking the movements of Drosophila exploring temperature, olfactory, or gaseous gradients has shown that their navigation is generated by a sequence of two alternating motor programs: runs involving peristaltic forward movement that are interrupted by turns involving probing side-to-side head sweeps until the initiation of a new run (5-8). Larvae negotiating temperature gradients stochastically transition between runs and turns by strategies that cause runs pointed in favorable directions to be more frequent and longer than runs pointed in unfavorable directions. These transitions b...

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“…Class IV neurons have also been implicated in larval locomotion (Ainsley et al, 2003). Class IV md-da neurons were shown to function in thermal and mechanical nociception as well as light sensing in larva (Hwang et al, 2007;Xiang et al, 2010). Gr28b is required for proper light transduction in class IV neurons in larva, although it is unclear if any of the alternatively spliced forms of Gr28b act as the actual light receptor (Xiang et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%