Dopamine D1 Receptor-Mediated Transmission Maintains Information Flow Through the Cortico-Striato-Entopeduncular Direct Pathway to Release Movements.

In the basal ganglia (BG), dopamine plays a pivotal role in motor control, and dopamine deficiency results in severe motor dysfunctions as seen in Parkinson's disease. According to the well-accepted model of the BG, dopamine activates striatal direct pathway neurons that directly project to the output nuclei of the BG through D1 receptors (D1Rs), whereas dopamine inhibits striatal indirect pathway neurons that project to the external pallidum (GPe) through D2 receptors. To clarify the exact role of dopaminergic transmission via D1Rs in vivo, we developed novel D1R knockdown mice in which D1Rs can be conditionally and reversibly regulated. Suppression of D1R expression by doxycycline treatment decreased spontaneous motor activity and impaired motor ability in the mice. Neuronal activity in the entopeduncular nucleus (EPN), one of the output nuclei of the rodent BG, was recorded in awake conditions to examine the mechanism of motor deficits. Cortically evoked inhibition in the EPN mediated by the cortico-striato-EPN direct pathway was mostly lost during suppression of D1R expression, whereas spontaneous firing rates and patterns remained unchanged. On the other hand, GPe activity changed little. These results suggest that D1R-mediated dopaminergic transmission maintains the information flow through the direct pathway to appropriately release motor actions.

Multiplexed shotgun genotyping for rapid and efficient genetic mapping.

We present a new approach to genotyping based on multiplexed shotgun sequencing that can identify recombination breakpoints in a large number of individuals simultaneously at a resolution sufficient for most mapping purposes, such as quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping and mapping of induced mutations. We first describe a simple library construction protocol that uses just 10 ng of genomic DNA per individual and makes the approach accessible to any laboratory with standard molecular biology equipment. Sequencing this library results in a large number of sequence reads widely distributed across the genomes of multiplexed bar-coded individuals. We develop a Hidden Markov Model to estimate ancestry at all genomic locations in all individuals using these data. We demonstrate the utility of the approach by mapping a dominant marker allele in D. simulans to within 105 kb of its true position using 96 F1-backcross individuals genotyped in a single lane on an Illumina Genome Analyzer. We further demonstrate the utility of our method by genetically mapping more than 400 previously unassembled D. simulans contigs to linkage groups and by evaluating the quality of targeted introgression lines. At this level of multiplexing and divergence between strains, our method allows estimation of recombination breakpoints to a median of 38-kb intervals. Our analysis suggests that higher levels of multiplexing and/or use of strains with lower levels of divergence are practicable.

Multi-channel acoustic recording and automated analysis of Drosophila courtship songs.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila melanogaster has served as a powerful model system for genetic studies of courtship songs. To accelerate research on the genetic and neural mechanisms underlying courtship song, we have developed a sensitive recording system to simultaneously capture the acoustic signals from 32 separate pairs of courting flies as well as software for automated segmentation of songs. RESULTS: Our novel hardware design enables recording of low amplitude sounds in most laboratory environments. We demonstrate the power of this system by collecting, segmenting and analyzing over 18 hours of courtship song from 75 males from five wild-type strains of Drosophila melanogaster. Our analysis reveals previously undetected modulation of courtship song features and extensive natural genetic variation for most components of courtship song. Despite having a large dataset with sufficient power to detect subtle modulations of song, we were unable to identify previously reported periodic rhythms in the inter-pulse interval of song. We provide detailed instructions for assembling the hardware and for using our open-source segmentation software. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of a large dataset of acoustic signals from Drosophila melanogaster provides novel insight into the structure and dynamics of species-specific courtship songs. Our new system for recording and analyzing fly acoustic signals should therefore greatly accelerate future studies of the genetics, neurobiology and evolution of courtship song.