Abstract
Thermosensation is an indispensable sensory modality. Here, we study temperature coding in Drosophila, and show that temperature is represented by a spatial map of activity in the brain. First, we identify TRP channels that function in the fly antenna to mediate the detection of cold stimuli. Next, we identify the hot-sensing neurons and show that hot and cold antennal receptors project onto distinct, but adjacent glomeruli in the Proximal-Antennal- Protocerebrum (PAP) forming a thermotopic map in the brain. We use two-photon imaging to reveal the functional segregation of hot and cold responses in the PAP, and show that silencing the hot- or cold-sensing neurons produces animals with distinct and discrete deficits in their behavioral responses to thermal stimuli. Together, these results demonstrate that dedicated populations of cells orchestrate behavioral responses to different temperature stimuli, and reveal a labeled-line logic for the coding of temperature information in the brain.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 614-624 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Cell |
| Volume | 144 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 18 2011 |
Funding
We thank Cahir O'Kane for UAS-TeNT flies; Paul Garrity for dTRPA1 KO flies; and especially Michael Reiser for invaluable help with designing and implementing the behavioral arenas and assays. We also thank David Julius and Avi Priel for their help and kindness hosting us (M.G.) in our efforts to express Brv channels in Xenopus oocytes. Wilson Kwan, George Gallardo, and Lisa Ha provided expert help with fly husbandry. We are grateful to Hojoon Lee, Dimitri Trankner, and Robert Barretto for help with experiments and data analysis; and Nick Ryba, Michael Reiser, and members of the Zuker lab for critical comments on the manuscript. We also thank Kevin Moses, Gerry Rubin, and the Janelia Farm Visitor Program. M.G. was supported by a Wenner-Grens Stiftelse and a Human Frontiers Science Program long term fellowship. L.J.M. is a fellow of the Jane Coffin Childs Foundation. C.S.Z. is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a Senior Fellow at Janelia Farm Research Campus. Author contributions: M.G. and C.S.Z. conceived all the experiments and wrote the paper. M.G. performed all the experiments presented in this paper, except the in situ hybridizations (T.A.O.). T.A.O. also helped with the set up for 2-choice behavioral assays, and J.W.W. helped design and setup the custom imaging system. L.J.M., M.G., and T.A.O. carried out extensive efforts to heterologously express Brv channels (data not shown).
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology