| Title: | A Drosophila DEG/ENaC subunit functions specifically in gustatory neurons required for male courtship behavior |
| Author(s): | Starostina E; Liu T; Vijayan V; Zheng Z; Siwicki KK; Pikielny CW; |
| Address: | "Department of Genetics, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03755-1404, USA" |
| DOI: | 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6178-11.2012 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1529-2401 (Electronic) 0270-6474 (Print) 0270-6474 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Detection of specific female pheromones stimulates courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster males, but the chemosensory molecules, cells, and mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Here we show that ppk25, a DEG/ENaC ion channel subunit required for normal male response to females, is expressed at highest levels in a single sexually dimorphic gustatory neuron of most taste hairs on legs and wings, but not in neurons that detect courtship-inhibiting pheromones or food. Synaptic inactivation of ppk25-expressing neurons, or knockdown of ppk25 expression in all gustatory neurons, significantly impairs male response to females, whereas gustatory expression of ppk25 rescues the courtship behavior of ppk25 mutant males. Remarkably, the only other detectable albeit significantly weaker expression of ppk25 occurs in olfactory neurons implicated in modulation of courtship behavior. However, expression of ppk25 in olfactory neurons is not required for male courtship under our experimental conditions. These data show that ppk25 functions specifically in peripheral taste neurons involved in activation of courtship behavior, an unexpected function for this type of channel. Furthermore, our work identifies a small subset of gustatory neurons with an essential role in activation of male courtship behavior, most likely in response to female pheromones" |
| Keywords: | Animals Chemoreceptor Cells/metabolism/*physiology *Courtship Drosophila Proteins/biosynthesis/genetics/*physiology Gene Expression Gene Knockdown Techniques/methods/psychology Male Molecular Imaging/methods Pheromones/physiology Sodium Channels/biosynthe; |
| Notes: | "MedlineStarostina, Elena Liu, Tong Vijayan, Vinoy Zheng, Zheng Siwicki, Kathleen K Pikielny, Claudio W eng R01 DC007911-02/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01 DC007911-03S1/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01DC007911/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01 DC007911-01A2/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ 76200 -560801/HHMI/Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ R01 DC007911-04/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01 DC007911-05/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01 DC007911/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ R01 DC007911-03/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2012/03/30 J Neurosci. 2012 Mar 28; 32(13):4665-74. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6178-11.2012" |
