Motor Control in a Drosophila Taste Circuit

Abstract

Tastes elicit innate behaviors critical for directing animals to ingest nutritious substances and reject toxic compounds, but the neural basis of these behaviors is not understood. Here, we use a neural silencing screen to identify neurons required for a simple Drosophila taste behavior, and characterize a neural population that controls a specific subprogram of this behavior. By silencing and activating subsets of the defined cell population, we identify the neurons involved in the taste behavior as a pair of motor neurons located in the subesophageal ganglion (SOG). The motor neurons are activated by sugar stimulation of gustatory neurons and inhibited by bitter compounds; however, experiments utilizing split-GFP detect no direct connections between the motor neurons and primary sensory neurons, indicating that further study will be necessary to elucidate the circuitry bridging these populations. Combined, these results provide a general strategy and a valuable starting point for future taste circuit analysis.

Essential basal cytonemes take up Hedgehog in the Drosophila wing imaginal disc

“…We used the GRASP technique (GFP Reconstitution Across Synaptic Partners) (Feinberg et al, 2008;Gordon and Scott, 2009) to image contacts that cells make at the A/P compartment border. We expressed CD4:GFP 11 (transmembrane domain of mouse lymphocyte protein CD4 fused with a GFP fragment that includes the 11th strand of the 11-stranded photocenter) in the dpp domain (dpp-LexA lexO-CD4:GFP 11 ), and expressed CD4:GFP 1-10 (a fusion with a fragment that includes GFP photocenter strands 1-10) in the P compartment (hh-Gal4 UAS-CD4:GFP 1-10 ).…”

GENETIC AND BEHAVIORAL INFLUENCES OF QUININE AND MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE ON Drosophila melanogaster

“…Drosophila taste behavior and characterize a neural population that controls a specific subprogram of this behavior (Gordon and Scott, 2008).…”

Identification of neurons responsible for feeding behavior in the Drosophila brain

“…The SOG region is widely regarded as the primary taste center in flies, and receives information from the sensory neurons and sends signals to control feeding movement after local circuit processing [31,54]. In recent years, although much progress has been made in identifying first-order sensory neurons and motor neurons controlling feeding movement, a direct connection between the two neuronal populations has not been reported, which suggests that there is at least a one-step relay mediated by interneurons in the SOG [31,32].…”

“…In recent years, although much progress has been made in identifying first-order sensory neurons and motor neurons controlling feeding movement, a direct connection between the two neuronal populations has not been reported, which suggests that there is at least a one-step relay mediated by interneurons in the SOG [31,32]. Recently one group reported that a single pair of NP883-Gal4 labeled neurons acts as interneurons and directs the feeding motor program [55].…”

“…For example, motor neurons drive proboscis extension and fluid ingestion [31,32]. A set of dopaminergic neurons classified as ventral unpaired medial (TH-VUM) neurons mediates increased sugar sensitivity during hunger [33,34].…”