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PLoS Genet

Title:		Drosophila pheromone-sensing neurons expressing the ppk25 ion channel subunit stimulate male courtship and female receptivity
Author(s):		Vijayan V; Thistle R; Liu T; Starostina E; Pikielny CW;
Address:		"Department of Genetics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America; Neuroscience Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology and Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America. Department of Genetics, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America; Neuroscience Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America; Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China"
Journal Title:		PLoS Genet
Year:		2014
Volume:		20140327
Issue:		3
Page Number:		e1004238 -
DOI:		10.1371/journal.pgen.1004238
ISSN/ISBN:		1553-7404 (Electronic) 1553-7390 (Print) 1553-7390 (Linking)
Abstract:		"As in many species, gustatory pheromones regulate the mating behavior of Drosophila. Recently, several ppk genes, encoding ion channel subunits of the DEG/ENaC family, have been implicated in this process, leading to the identification of gustatory neurons that detect specific pheromones. In a subset of taste hairs on the legs of Drosophila, there are two ppk23-expressing, pheromone-sensing neurons with complementary response profiles; one neuron detects female pheromones that stimulate male courtship, the other detects male pheromones that inhibit male-male courtship. In contrast to ppk23, ppk25, is only expressed in a single gustatory neuron per taste hair, and males with impaired ppk25 function court females at reduced rates but do not display abnormal courtship of other males. These findings raised the possibility that ppk25 expression defines a subset of pheromone-sensing neurons. Here we show that ppk25 is expressed and functions in neurons that detect female-specific pheromones and mediates their stimulatory effect on male courtship. Furthermore, the role of ppk25 and ppk25-expressing neurons is not restricted to responses to female-specific pheromones. ppk25 is also required in the same subset of neurons for stimulation of male courtship by young males, males of the Tai2 strain, and by synthetic 7-pentacosene (7-P), a hydrocarbon normally found at low levels in both males and females. Finally, we unexpectedly find that, in females, ppk25 and ppk25-expressing cells regulate receptivity to mating. In the absence of the third antennal segment, which has both olfactory and auditory functions, mutations in ppk25 or silencing of ppk25-expressing neurons block female receptivity to males. Together these results indicate that ppk25 identifies a functionally specialized subset of pheromone-sensing neurons. While ppk25 neurons are required for the responses to multiple pheromones, in both males and females these neurons are specifically involved in stimulating courtship and mating"
Keywords:		"Animals Courtship Drosophila Drosophila Proteins/*biosynthesis/genetics Female Gene Expression Regulation Male Mutation Neurons/*metabolism Pheromones/*genetics *Sexual Behavior, Animal Sodium Channels/*biosynthesis/genetics;neuroscience;"
Notes:		"MedlineVijayan, Vinoy Thistle, Rob Liu, Tong Starostina, Elena Pikielny, Claudio W eng R01 DC007911/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01DC007911/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ 76200-560801/HHMI/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2014/03/29 PLoS Genet. 2014 Mar 27; 10(3):e1004238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004238. eCollection 2014 Mar"