title: The Amino Acid Transporter JhI-21 Coevolves with Glutamate Receptors, Impacts NMJ Physiology, and Influences Locomotor Activity in Drosophila Larvae.
abstract: Changes in synaptic physiology underlie neuronal network plasticity and behavioral phenomena, which are adjusted during development. The Drosophila larval glutamatergic neuromuscular junction (NMJ) represents a powerful synaptic model to investigate factors impacting these processes. Amino acids such as glutamate have been shown to regulate Drosophila NMJ physiology by modulating the clustering of postsynaptic glutamate receptors and thereby regulating the strength of signal transmission from the motor neuron to the muscle cell. To identify amino acid transporters impacting glutmatergic signal transmission, we used Evolutionary Rate Covariation (ERC), a recently developed bioinformatic tool. Our screen identified ten proteins co-evolving with NMJ glutamate receptors. We selected one candidate transporter, the SLC7 (Solute Carrier) transporter family member JhI-21 (Juvenile hormone Inducible-21), which is expressed in Drosophila larval motor neurons. We show that JhI-21 suppresses postsynaptic muscle glutamate receptor abundance, and that JhI-21 expression in motor neurons regulates larval crawling behavior in a developmental stage-specific manner.
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Anna B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois 60607, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: Hrvoje
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Augustin
authors.affiliation: Department of Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 15260, Pennsylvania, USA.
authors.forename: Nathan L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berthelot-Grosjean
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Mégane M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Simonnet
authors.affiliation: MRC Toxicology Unit, University of Leicester, LE1 9HN Leicester, UK.
authors.forename: Joern R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Steinert
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Flore
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Geillon
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Gérard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Manière
authors.affiliation: Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Illinois 60607, Chicago, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Featherstone
authors.affiliation: CNRS, UMR6265 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|INRA, UMR1324 Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.|Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Grosjean
mesh_terms: D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials; D007814:Larva; D009043:Motor Activity; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D009154:Mutation; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000502:physiology*; D017729:Presynaptic Terminals / Q000378:metabolism; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D009435:Synaptic Transmission
chemical_list: D026905:Amino Acid Transport Systems; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; C542118:JhI-21 protein, Drosophila; D017470:Receptors, Glutamate