1
|
Ueda A, Berg A, Khan T, Ruzicka M, Li S, Cramer E, Iyengar A, Wu CF. Intense light unleashes male-male courtship behaviour in wild-type Drosophila. Open Biol 2023; 13:220233. [PMID: 37463658 PMCID: PMC10353890 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.220233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Drosophila courtship studies have elucidated several principles of the neurogenetic organization of complex behaviour. Through an integration across sensory modalities, males perform stereotypic patterns of chasing, courtship song production and copulation attempts. Here we report a serendipitous finding that intense light not only enhances courtship toward female targets but also triggers unexpected courtship behaviours among male flies. Strikingly, in wild-type male-only chambers, we observed extreme behavioural manifestations, such as 'chaining' and 'wheeling', resembling previously reported male-male courtship behaviours in fruitless mutants and in transformants with ectopic mini-white+ overexpression. This male-male courtship was greatly diminished in a variety of visual system mutants, including disrupted phototransduction (norpA), eliminated eye-colour screening pigments (white), or deletion of the R7 photoreceptor cells (sevenless). However, light-induced courtship was unhampered in wing-cut flies, despite their inability to produce courtship song, a major acoustic signal during courtship. Unexpectedly the olfactory mutants orco and sbl displayed unrestrained male-male courtship. Particularly, orco males attained maximum courtship scores under either dim or intense light conditions. Together, our observations support the notion that the innate male courtship behaviour is restrained by olfactory cues under normal conditions but can be unleashed by strong visual stimulation in Drosophila.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Ueda
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Abigayle Berg
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Tashmit Khan
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | | | - Shuwen Li
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Ellyn Cramer
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| | - Atulya Iyengar
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
| | - Chun-Fang Wu
- Department of Biology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liessem S, Held M, Bisen RS, Haberkern H, Lacin H, Bockemühl T, Ache JM. Behavioral state-dependent modulation of insulin-producing cells in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2023; 33:449-463.e5. [PMID: 36580915 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Insulin signaling plays a pivotal role in metabolic control and aging, and insulin accordingly is a key factor in several human diseases. Despite this importance, the in vivo activity dynamics of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) are poorly understood. Here, we characterized the effects of locomotion on the activity of IPCs in Drosophila. Using in vivo electrophysiology and calcium imaging, we found that IPCs were strongly inhibited during walking and flight and that their activity rebounded and overshot after cessation of locomotion. Moreover, IPC activity changed rapidly during behavioral transitions, revealing that IPCs are modulated on fast timescales in behaving animals. Optogenetic activation of locomotor networks ex vivo, in the absence of actual locomotion or changes in hemolymph sugar levels, was sufficient to inhibit IPCs. This demonstrates that the behavioral state-dependent inhibition of IPCs is actively controlled by neuronal pathways and is independent of changes in glucose concentration. By contrast, the overshoot in IPC activity after locomotion was absent ex vivo and after starvation, indicating that it was not purely driven by feedforward signals but additionally required feedback derived from changes in hemolymph sugar concentration. We hypothesize that IPC inhibition during locomotion supports mobilization of fuel stores during metabolically demanding behaviors, while the rebound in IPC activity after locomotion contributes to replenishing muscle glycogen stores. In addition, the rapid dynamics of IPC modulation support a potential role of insulin in the state-dependent modulation of sensorimotor processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sander Liessem
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Martina Held
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Rituja S Bisen
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Hannah Haberkern
- HHMI Janelia Research Campus, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Haluk Lacin
- Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 4523 Clayton Avenue, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Till Bockemühl
- Department of Biology, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Jan M Ache
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Meiselman MR, Ganguly A, Dahanukar A, Adams ME. Endocrine modulation of primary chemosensory neurons regulates Drosophila courtship behavior. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010357. [PMID: 35998183 PMCID: PMC9439213 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The decision to engage in courtship depends on external cues from potential mates and internal cues related to maturation, health, and experience. Hormones allow for coordinated conveyance of such information to peripheral tissues. Here, we show Ecdysis-Triggering Hormone (ETH) is critical for courtship inhibition after completion of copulation in Drosophila melanogaster. ETH deficiency relieves post-copulation courtship inhibition (PCCI) and increases male-male courtship. ETH appears to modulate perception and attractiveness of potential mates by direct action on primary chemosensory neurons. Knockdown of ETH receptor (ETHR) expression in GR32A-expressing neurons leads to reduced ligand sensitivity and elevated male-male courtship. We find OR67D also is critical for normal levels of PCCI after mating. ETHR knockdown in OR67D-expressing neurons or GR32A-expressing neurons relieves PCCI. Finally, ETHR silencing in the corpus allatum (CA), the sole source of juvenile hormone, also relieves PCCI; treatment with the juvenile hormone analog methoprene partially restores normal post-mating behavior. We find that ETH, a stress-sensitive reproductive hormone, appears to coordinate multiple sensory modalities to guide Drosophila male courtship behaviors, especially after mating. The decision of when to reproduce is paramount for organismal survival. In models like mice and flies, we have a comprehensive understanding of neuronal substrates for perception of mates and courtship drive, but how these substrates adapt to malleable internal and external environments remains unclear. Here, we show that post-mating refractoriness depends upon a peptide hormone, Ecdysis-Triggering Hormone (ETH). We show repression of courtship toward recently-mated females depends upon pheromone cues and that ETH deficiency impairs perception of female matedness. ETH signaling appears to promote the activity and function of pheromone-sensing primary olfactory and gustatory sensory neurons. Additionally, ETH sets internal levels of Juvenile Hormone, a hormone known to inhibit courtship drive in flies. Elimination of ETH or its receptor in primary sensory neurons or the glandular source of Juvenile Hormone reduces male post-copulation courtship inhibition (PCCI), causing continued courtship toward female counterparts after successful mating. Our data suggest ETH and its targets are critical for post-mating refractoriness in males.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R. Meiselman
- Graduate Program in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MRM); (MEA)
| | - Anindya Ganguly
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Anupama Dahanukar
- Graduate Program in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
| | - Michael E. Adams
- Graduate Program in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Department of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (MRM); (MEA)
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Abstract
Plasticity in animal behaviour relies on the ability to integrate external and internal cues from the changing environment and hence modulate activity in synaptic circuits of the brain. This context-dependent neuromodulation is largely based on non-synaptic signalling with neuropeptides. Here, we describe select peptidergic systems in the Drosophila brain that act at different levels of a hierarchy to modulate behaviour and associated physiology. These systems modulate circuits in brain regions, such as the central complex and the mushroom bodies, which supervise specific behaviours. At the top level of the hierarchy there are small numbers of large peptidergic neurons that arborize widely in multiple areas of the brain to orchestrate or modulate global activity in a state and context-dependent manner. At the bottom level local peptidergic neurons provide executive neuromodulation of sensory gain and intrinsically in restricted parts of specific neuronal circuits. The orchestrating neurons receive interoceptive signals that mediate energy and sleep homeostasis, metabolic state and circadian timing, as well as external cues that affect food search, aggression or mating. Some of these cues can be triggers of conflicting behaviours such as mating versus aggression, or sleep versus feeding, and peptidergic neurons participate in circuits, enabling behaviour choices and switches.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dick R. Nässel
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Meet Zandawala
- Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland Würzburg 97074, Germany
| |
Collapse
|