Disruption of a behavioral sequence by targeted death of peptidergic neurons in Drosophila.
The neuropeptide eclosion hormone (EH) is a key regulator of insect ecdysis. We tested the role of the two EH-producing neurons in Drosophila by using an EH cell-specific enhancer to activate cell death genes reaper and head involution defective to ablate the EH cells. In the EH cell knockout flies, larval and adult ecdyses were disrupted, yet a third of the knockouts emerged as adults, demonstrating that EH has a significant but nonessential role in ecdysis. The EH cell knockouts had discrete behavioral deficits, including slow, uncoordinated eclosion and an insensitivity to ecdysis-triggering hormone. The knockouts lacked the lights-on eclosion response despite having a normal circadian eclosion rhythm. This study represents a novel approach to the dissection of neuropeptide regulation of a complex behavioral program.
McNabb
S L
SL
Department of Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-1800, USA.
Baker
J D
JD
Agapite
J
J
Steller
H
H
Riddiford
L M
LM
Truman
J W
JW
D000818:Animals; D016923:Cell Death; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D003624:Darkness; D004330:Drosophila; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000502:physiology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007301:Insect Hormones / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva; D008027:Light; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D009479:Neuropeptides; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000502:physiology; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D007301:Insect Hormones; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; C042645:eclosion hormone