title: Temperature sensation in Drosophila.
abstract: Animals use thermosensory systems to achieve optimal temperatures for growth and reproduction and to avoid damaging extremes. Thermoregulation is particularly challenging for small animals like the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, whose body temperature rapidly changes in response to environmental temperature fluctuation. Recent work has uncovered some of the key molecules mediating fly thermosensation, including the Transient Receptor Potential (TRP) channels TRPA1 and Painless, and the Gustatory Receptor Gr28b, an unanticipated thermosensory regulator normally associated with a different sensory modality. There is also evidence the Drosophila phototransduction cascade may have some role in thermosensory responses. Together, the fly's diverse thermosensory molecules act in an array of functionally distinct thermosensory neurons to drive a suite of complex, and often exceptionally thermosensitive, behaviors.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Behavioral Genomics and Volen Center for Complex Systems, Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02458, United States.
authors.forename: Belinda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Barbagallo
authors.affiliation: National Center for Behavioral Genomics and Volen Center for Complex Systems, Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02458, United States. Electronic address: pgarrity@brandeis.edu.
authors.forename: Paul A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Garrity
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013697:Thermosensing / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C543920:Gr28b protein, Drosophila; D007473:Ion Channels; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels; C475684:TrpA1 protein, Drosophila; C474592:pain protein, Drosophila