title: Quantification of gait parameters in freely walking wild type and sensory deprived Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: Coordinated walking in vertebrates and multi-legged invertebrates [corrected] such as Drosophila melanogaster requires a complex neural network coupled to sensory feedback. An understanding of this network will benefit from systems such as Drosophila that have the ability to genetically manipulate neural activities. However, the fly's small size makes it challenging to analyze walking in this system. In order to overcome this limitation, we developed an optical method coupled with high-speed imaging that allows the tracking and quantification of gait parameters in freely walking flies with high temporal and spatial resolution. Using this method, we present a comprehensive description of many locomotion parameters, such as gait, tarsal positioning, and intersegmental and left-right coordination for wild type fruit flies. Surprisingly, we find that inactivation of sensory neurons in the fly's legs, to block proprioceptive feedback, led to deficient step precision, but interleg coordination and the ability to execute a tripod gait were unaffected.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.00231.001.
authors: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics ,  Columbia University ,  New York ,  USA.
authors: César S
authors: CS
authors: Mendes
authors: Imre
authors: I
authors: Bartos
authors: Turgay
authors: T
authors: Akay
authors: Szabolcs
authors: S
authors: Márka
authors: Richard S
authors: RS
authors: Mann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005121:Extremities / Q000294:innervation*; D056228:Feedback, Sensory; D005684:Gait; D005838:Genotype; D055095:Optics and Photonics / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D010641:Phenotype; D011434:Proprioception / Q000235:genetics; D011984:Sensory Receptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D014159:Transducers; D014741:Video Recording; D016138:Walking
keywords: D. melanogaster; coordination; gait analysis; motor neuron; proprioception; sensory feedback; walking behavior