title: Magnetoreception Regulates Male Courtship Activity in Drosophila.
abstract: The possible neurological and biophysical effects of magnetic fields on animals is an area of active study. Here, we report that courtship activity of male Drosophila increases in a magnetic field and that this effect is regulated by the blue light-dependent photoreceptor cryptochrome (CRY). Naïve male flies exhibited significantly increased courtship activities when they were exposed to a ≥ 20-Gauss static magnetic field, compared with their behavior in the natural environment (0 Gauss). CRY-deficient flies, cryb and crym, did not show an increased courtship index in a magnetic field. RNAi-mediated knockdown of cry in cry-GAL4-positive neurons disrupted the increased male courtship activity in a magnetic field. Genetically expressing cry under the control of cry-GAL4 in the CRY-deficient flies restored the increase in male courtship index that occurred in a magnetic field. Interestingly, artificially activating cry-GAL4-expressing neurons, which include large ventral lateral neurons and small ventral lateral neurons, via expression of thermosensitive cation channel dTrpA1, also increased the male courtship index. This enhancement was abolished by the addition of the cry-GAL80 transgene. Our results highlight the phenomenon of increased male courtship activity caused by a magnetic field through CRY-dependent magnetic sensation in CRY expression neurons in Drosophila.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan.|Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan.|Molecular Medicine Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan.|Department of Neurology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, 33305, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, National Chi-Nan University, Nantou, 54561, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tsai-Feng
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Meng-Hsuan
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yu-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Division of Natural Science, Center for General Education, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 33302, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jim-Long
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Her
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, 33305, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056931:Cryptochromes / Q000235:genetics*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D007473:Ion Channels; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D056931:Cryptochromes; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; D050052:TRPC Cation Channels; C475684:TrpA1 protein, Drosophila