Comparative connectomics and escape behavior in larvae of closely related Drosophila species.
Curr Biol
; 33(12): 2491-2503.e4, 2023 06 19.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37285846
ABSTRACT
Evolution has generated an enormous variety of morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits in animals. How do behaviors evolve in different directions in species equipped with similar neurons and molecular components? Here we adopted a comparative approach to investigate the similarities and differences of escape behaviors in response to noxious stimuli and their underlying neural circuits between closely related drosophilid species. Drosophilids show a wide range of escape behaviors in response to noxious cues, including escape crawling, stopping, head casting, and rolling. Here we find that D. santomea, compared with its close relative D. melanogaster, shows a higher probability of rolling in response to noxious stimulation. To assess whether this behavioral difference could be attributed to differences in neural circuitry, we generated focused ion beam-scanning electron microscope volumes of the ventral nerve cord of D. santomea to reconstruct the downstream partners of mdIV, a nociceptive sensory neuron in D. melanogaster. Along with partner interneurons of mdVI (including Basin-2, a multisensory integration neuron necessary for rolling) previously identified in D. melanogaster, we identified two additional partners of mdVI in D. santomea. Finally, we showed that joint activation of one of the partners (Basin-1) and a common partner (Basin-2) in D. melanogaster increased rolling probability, suggesting that the high rolling probability in D. santomea is mediated by the additional activation of Basin-1 by mdIV. These results provide a plausible mechanistic explanation for how closely related species exhibit quantitative differences in the likelihood of expressing the same behavior.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Drosophila
/
Conectoma
Límite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Curr Biol
Asunto de la revista:
BIOLOGIA
Año:
2023
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Canadá