title: A Switch in Thermal Preference in Drosophila Larvae Depends on Multiple Rhodopsins.
abstract: Drosophila third-instar larvae exhibit changes in their behavioral responses to gravity and food as they transition from feeding to wandering stages. Using a thermal gradient encompassing the comfortable range (18°C to 28°C), we found that third-instar larvae exhibit a dramatic shift in thermal preference. Early third-instar larvae prefer 24°C, which switches to increasingly stronger biases for 18°C-19°C in mid- and late-third-instar larvae. Mutations eliminating either of two rhodopsins, Rh5 and Rh6, wiped out these age-dependent changes in thermal preference. In larvae, Rh5 and Rh6 are thought to function exclusively in the light-sensing Bolwig organ. However, the Bolwig organ was dispensable for the thermal preference. Rather, Rh5 and Rh6 were required in trpA1-expressing neurons in the brain, ventral nerve cord, and body wall. Because Rh1 contributes to thermal selection in the comfortable range during the early to mid-third-instar stage, fine thermal discrimination depends on multiple rhodopsins.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sokabe
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
authors.forename: Hsiang-Chin
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA. Electronic address: craig.montell@lifesci.ucsb.edu.
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D007473:Ion Channels; D007814:Larva / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D008027:Light; D009154:Mutation; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000235:genetics*; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel / Q000235:genetics*; D022722:Thermogenesis / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; C523885:Rh5 protein, Drosophila; C105578:Rh6 protein, Drosophila; D000074025:TRPA1 Cation Channel; C475684:TrpA1 protein, Drosophila; D012243:Rhodopsin
keywords: Drosophila; TRP channel; TRPA1; larvae; opsin; rhodopsin; temperature sensation; thermotaxis