title: The Drosophila melanogaster phospholipid flippase dATP8B is required for odorant receptor function.
abstract: The olfactory systems of insects are fundamental to all aspects of their behaviour, and insect olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs) exhibit exquisite specificity and sensitivity to a wide range of environmental cues. In Drosophila melanogaster, ORN responses are determined by three different receptor families, the odorant (Or), ionotropic-like (IR) and gustatory (Gr) receptors. However, the precise mechanisms of signalling by these different receptor families are not fully understood. Here we report the unexpected finding that the type 4 P-type ATPase phospholipid transporter dATP8B, the homologue of a protein associated with intrahepatic cholestasis and hearing loss in humans, is crucial for Drosophila olfactory responses. Mutations in dATP8B severely attenuate sensitivity of odorant detection specifically in Or-expressing ORNs, but do not affect responses mediated by IR or Gr receptors. Accordingly, we find dATP8B to be expressed in ORNs and localised to the dendritic membrane of the olfactory neurons where signal transduction occurs. Localisation of Or proteins to the dendrites is unaffected in dATP8B mutants, as is dendrite morphology, suggesting instead that dATP8B is critical for Or signalling. As dATP8B is a member of the phospholipid flippase family of ATPases, which function to determine asymmetry in phospholipid composition between the outer and inner leaflets of plasma membranes, our findings suggest a requirement for phospholipid asymmetry in the signalling of a specific family of chemoreceptor proteins.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Yu-Chi
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Michelle W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Travis K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Sandhya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Charlu
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Kavita R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mays
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imad
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America; Department of Molecular & Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America.
authors.forename: Konrad E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Zinsmaier
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anandasankar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Anupama
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dahanukar
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Marien
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Bruyne
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Coral G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Warr
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002628:Chemoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D018034:Olfactory Receptor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D049294:Phospholipid Transfer Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018035:Receptors, Odorant / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D012903:Smell / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C000591168:ATP8B protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D049294:Phospholipid Transfer Proteins; D018035:Receptors, Odorant