Genome-wide approaches to understanding behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster

Neville, Megan C; Goodwin, Stephen F.

doi:10.1093/bfgp/els031

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Substantial differences in the tissue composition of the study samples may cause mis-estimation of gene expression differences between samples [54]. In order to determine whether tissue heterogeneity in the ovary size of D and ND females could explain gene expression differences between females, we examined whether our differentially expressed (DE) genes were enriched for ovary genes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptional Differences between Diapausing and Non-Diapausing D. montana Females Reared under the Same Photoperiod and Temperature

et al. 2016

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BackgroundA wide range of insects living at higher latitudes enter diapause at the end of the warm season, which increases their chances of survival through harsh winter conditions. In this study we used RNA sequencing to identify genes involved in adult reproductive diapause in a northern fly species, Drosophila montana. Both diapausing and non-diapausing flies were reared under a critical day length and temperature, where about half of the emerging females enter diapause enabling us to eliminate the effects of varying environmental conditions on gene expression patterns of the two types of female flies.ResultsRNA sequencing revealed large differences between gene expression patterns of diapausing and non-diapausing females, especially in genes involved with metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, and metal and nucleotide binding. Differently expressed genes included several gene groups, including myosin, actin and cytochromeP450 genes, which have been previously associated with diapause. This study also identified new candidate genes, including some involved in cuticular hydrocarbon synthesis or regulation (desat1 and desat2), and acyl-CoA Δ11-desaturase activity (CG9747), and few odorant-binding protein genes (e.g. Obp44A). Also, several transposable elements (TEs) showed differential expression between the two female groups motivating future research on their roles in diapause.ConclusionsOur results demonstrate that the adult reproductive diapause in D. montana involves changes in the expression level of a variety of genes involved in key processes (e.g. metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis) which help diapausing females to cope with overwintering. This is consistent with the view that diapause is a complex adaptive phenotype where not only sexual maturation is arrested, but also changes in adult physiology are required in order to survive over the winter.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transcriptional Differences between Diapausing and Non-Diapausing D. montana Females Reared under the Same Photoperiod and Temperature

et al. 2016

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“…It is likely that neuropeptides and neuropeptide receptors that are expressed in these neuronal circuits regulate some aspect of mating behavior [376,377,[475][476][477]. Drosophila mating and post-mating behaviors, and reproduction have been a subject of intense investigation and this topic has been reviewed in detail recently [3,7,467,[478][479][480][481][482][483][484][485].…”

Section: 6 Neuropeptides Regulating Mating Behavior and Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent advances in neuropeptide signaling in Drosophila, from genes to physiology and behavior

Nässel

Zandawala

2019

Preprint

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This review focuses on neuropeptides and peptide hormones, the largest and most diverse class of neuroactive substances, known in Drosophila and other animals to play roles in almost all aspects of daily life, as well as in developmental processes. We provide an update on novel neuropeptides and receptors identified in the last decade, and highlight progress in analysis of neuropeptide signaling in Drosophila. Especially exciting is the huge amount of work published on novel functions of neuropeptides and peptide hormones in Drosophila, largely due to the rapid developments of powerful genetic methods, imaging techniques and innovative assays. We critically discuss the roles of peptides in olfaction, taste, foraging, feeding, clock function/sleep, aggression, mating/reproduction, learning and other behaviors, as well as in regulation of development, growth, metabolic and water homeostasis, stress responses, fecundity, and lifespan. We furthermore provide novel information on neuropeptide distribution and organization of peptidergic systems, as well as the phylogenetic relations between Drosophila neuropeptides and those of other phyla, including mammals. As will be shown, neuropeptide signaling is phylogenetically ancient, and not only are the structures of the peptides, precursors and receptors conserved over evolution, but also many functions of neuropeptide signaling in physiology and behavior.

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“…at least minutes, if not hours) many of which will have little or no direct relationship to facilitating the performance of that behaviour. The most obvious example would be genes that are upregulated or downregulated as a consequence of a particular behaviour, rather than genes that are causal [ 12 ]. While the former is undoubtedly useful for expanding our understanding of the genetic, and perhaps physiological, context of behaviour, it is less helpful in identifying the genes that bring a behaviour into being.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential gene expression is not required for facultative sex allocation: a transcriptome analysis of brain tissue in the parasitoid waspNasonia vitripennis

et al. 2018

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Whole-transcriptome technologies have been widely used in behavioural genetics to identify genes associated with the performance of a behaviour and provide clues to its mechanistic basis. Here, we consider the genetic basis of sex allocation behaviour in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis. Female Nasonia facultatively vary their offspring sex ratio in line with Hamilton's theory of local mate competition (LMC). A single female or ‘foundress’ laying eggs on a patch will lay just enough sons to fertilize her daughters. As the number of ‘foundresses’ laying eggs on a patch increases (and LMC declines), females produce increasingly male-biased sex ratios. Phenotypic studies have revealed the cues females use to estimate the level of LMC their sons will experience, but our understanding of the genetics underlying sex allocation is limited. Here, we exposed females to three foundress number conditions, i.e. three LMC conditions, and allowed them to oviposit. mRNA was extracted from only the heads of these females to target the brain tissue. The subsequent RNA-seq experiment confirmed that differential gene expression is not associated with the response to sex allocation cues and that we must instead turn to the underlying neuroscience to reveal the underpinnings of this impressive behavioural plasticity.

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Genome-wide approaches to understanding behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster

Cited by 8 publications

References 51 publications

Transcriptional Differences between Diapausing and Non-Diapausing D. montana Females Reared under the Same Photoperiod and Temperature

Transcriptional Differences between Diapausing and Non-Diapausing D. montana Females Reared under the Same Photoperiod and Temperature

Recent advances in neuropeptide signaling in Drosophila, from genes to physiology and behavior

Differential gene expression is not required for facultative sex allocation: a transcriptome analysis of brain tissue in the parasitoid waspNasonia vitripennis

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