The cellular organization of the fru circuit suggests how multiple distinct sensory cues are integrated in the fly's brain to drive sex-specific courtship behavior. We propose that sensory processing and motor control are mediated through circuits that are largely similar in males and females. Sex-specific behavior may instead arise through dimorphic circuits in the brain and nerve cord that differentially couple sensory input to motor output.

Drosophila neuronal stem cell neuroblasts (NB) constantly change character upon division, to produce a different type of progeny at the next division. Transcription factors Hunchback (HB), Krüppel (KR), Pdm (PDM), etc. are expressed sequentially in each NB and act as determinants of birth-order identity. How a NB switches its expression profile from one transcription factor to the next is poorly understood. We show that the HB-to-KR switch is directed by the nuclear receptor Seven-up (SVP). SVP expression is confined to a temporally restricted subsection within the NB's lineage. Loss of SVP function causes an increase in the number of HB-positive cells within several NB lineages, whereas misexpression of svp leads to the loss of these early-born neurons. Lineage analysis provides evidence that svp is required to switch off HB at the proper time. Thus, svp modifies the self-renewal stem cell program to allow chronological change of cell fates, thereby generating neuronal diversity.

Dendrite pruning is critical for sculpting the final connectivity of neural circuits as it removes inappropriate projections, yet how neurons can selectively eliminate unnecessary dendritic branches remains elusive. Here, we show that calcium transients that are compartmentalized in specific dendritic branches act as temporal and spatial cues to trigger pruning in Drosophila sensory neurons. Calcium transients occurred in local dendrites at ~3 hours before branch elimination. In dendritic branches, intrinsic excitability increased locally to activate calcium influx via the voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs), and blockade of the VGCC activities impaired pruning. Further genetic analyses suggest that the calcium-activated protease calpain functions downstream of the calcium transients. Our findings reveal the importance of the compartmentalized subdendritic calcium signaling in spatiotemporally selective elimination of dendritic branches.

We previously proposed a model that DALLY, a Drosophila glypican, acts as a trans co-receptor to regulate BMP signaling in the germ line stem cell niche. To investigate the molecular mechanisms of contact-dependent BMP signaling, we developed novel in vitro assay systems to monitor trans signaling using Drosophila S2 cells. Using immunoblot-based as well as single-cell assay systems, we present evidence that Drosophila glypicans indeed enhance BMP signaling in trans in a contactdependent manner in vitro. Our analysis showed that heparan sulfate modification is required for the trans co-receptor activity of DALLY. Two BMP-like molecules, Decapentaplegic (DPP) and Glass bottom boat, can mediate trans signaling through a heparan sulfate proteoglycan co-receptor in S2 cells. The in vitro systems reflect the molecular characteristics of heparan sulfate proteoglycan functions observed previously in vivo, such as ligand specificity and biphasic activity dependent on the ligand dosage. In addition, experiments using a DALLY-coated surface suggested that DALLY regulates DPP signaling in trans by its effect on the stability of DPP protein on the surface of the contacting cells. Our findings provide the molecular foundation for novel contact-dependent signaling, which defines the physical space of the stem cell niche in vivo. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)2 play critical roles in cell-cell communication during animal development. Remarkably, these molecules mediate both long and short range signaling dependent on context. For example, Decapentaplegic (DPP), a Drosophila homologue of BMPs, acts as a long range morphogen in the developing wing and as a contact-dependent niche factor in the female germ line stem cell (GSC) niche. The molecular basis underlying this differential activity of BMPs is not fully understood.Signaling and distribution of BMPs in a tissue are modulated by a class of carbohydrate-modified molecules, heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) (1-3). In addition to BMPs, HSPGs serve as co-receptors for a number of other growth factors and morphogens, including FGF, WNT, and Hedgehog (4). HSPGs generally are thought to regulate growth factor signaling on the surface of the signal-receiving cells (5). It has been reported, however, that HSPGs can regulate signaling in trans from neighboring cells in some cases (6, 7).Recent studies demonstrated that HSPGs are essential regulators of the GSC niche in the Drosophila ovary (8, 9). Although it has been well established that DPP regulates the asymmetric division of a GSC (10), the mechanism by which this secreted molecule differentially regulates two daughter cells has been a mystery. We have found previously that DALLY, a Drosophila HSPG of the glypican type, is expressed specifically in the somatic niche cells (the cap cells) contacting GSCs and is required for GSC maintenance (8). Ectopic dally expression in somatic cells in a wide region of the germarium was sufficient to maintain all the contacting germ line cells as GSC-like undifferentiated cells, thus e...