title: The early developmental gene Semaphorin 5c contributes to olfactory behavior in adult Drosophila.
abstract: Behaviors are complex traits influenced by multiple pleiotropic genes. Understanding the mechanisms that give rise to complex behaviors requires an understanding of how variation in transcriptional regulation shapes nervous system development and how variation in brain structure influences an organism's ability to respond to its environment. To begin to address this problem, we used olfactory behavior in Drosophila melanogaster as a model and showed that a hypomorphic transposon-mediated mutation of the early developmental gene Semaphorin-5c (Sema-5c) results in aberrant behavioral responses to the repellant odorant benzaldehyde. We fine mapped this effect to the Sema-5c locus using deficiency mapping, phenotypic reversion through P-element excision, and transgenic rescue. Morphometric analysis of this Sema-5c allele reveals subtle neuroanatomical changes in the brain with a reduction in the size of the ellipsoid body. High-density oligonucleotide expression microarrays identified 50 probe sets with altered transcriptional regulation in the Sema-5c background and quantitative complementation tests identified epistatic interactions between nine of these coregulated genes and the transposon-disrupted Sema-5c gene. Our results demonstrate how hypomorphic mutation of an early developmental gene results in genomewide transcriptional consequences and alterations in brain structure accompanied by profound impairment of adult behavior.
authors: Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA.
authors: Stephanie M
authors: SM
authors: Rollmann
authors: Akihiko
authors: A
authors: Yamamoto
authors: Tim
authors: T
authors: Goossens
authors: Liesbeth
authors: L
authors: Zwarts
authors: Zsuzsanna
authors: Z
authors: Callaerts-Végh
authors: Patrick
authors: P
authors: Callaerts
authors: Koenraad
authors: K
authors: Norga
authors: Trudy F C
authors: TF
authors: Mackay
authors: Robert R H
authors: RR
authors: Anholt
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D001547:Benzaldehydes; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal / Q000276:immunology; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D009812:Odorants; D039961:Semaphorins / Q000235:genetics*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001547:Benzaldehydes; D015816:Cell Adhesion Molecules, Neuronal; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C498727:Sema5c protein, Drosophila; D039961:Semaphorins; C051642:fasciclin II; C032175:benzaldehyde