Positive geotactic behaviors induced by geomagnetic field in Drosophila.
Mol Brain 2016;
9:55. [PMID:
27192976 PMCID:
PMC4870802 DOI:
10.1186/s13041-016-0235-1]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Appropriate vertical movement is critical for the survival of flying animals. Although negative geotaxis (moving away from Earth) driven by gravity has been extensively studied, much less is understood concerning a static regulatory mechanism for inducing positive geotaxis (moving toward Earth).
Results
Using Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism, we showed that geomagnetic field (GMF) induces positive geotaxis and antagonizes negative gravitaxis. Remarkably, GMF acts as a sensory cue for an appetite-driven associative learning behavior through the GMF-induced positive geotaxis. This GMF-induced positive geotaxis requires the three geotaxis genes, such as cry, pyx and pdf, and the corresponding neurons residing in Johnston’s organ of the fly’s antennae.
Conclusions
These findings provide a novel concept with the neurogenetic basis on the regulation of vertical movement by GMF in the flying animals.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13041-016-0235-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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