Ecdysis triggering hormone receptors regulate male courtship behavior via antennal lobe interneurons in Drosophila

Sonali A Deshpande; Matthew Meiselman; Robert H Hice; Peter Arensburger; Crisalejandra Rivera-Perez; Do-Hyoung Kim; Rachel L Croft; Fernando Gabriel Noriega; Michael E Adams

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.12.003

Ecdysis triggering hormone receptors regulate male courtship behavior via antennal lobe interneurons in Drosophila

Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2019 Jul 1:278:79-88. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.12.003. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Authors

Sonali A Deshpande¹, Matthew Meiselman², Robert H Hice¹, Peter Arensburger³, Crisalejandra Rivera-Perez⁴, Do-Hyoung Kim¹, Rachel L Croft⁵, Fernando Gabriel Noriega⁴, Michael E Adams⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States.
² Graduate Program in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States.
³ Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 917684, United States.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, Biomolecular Sciences Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, United States.
⁵ Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States.
⁶ Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States; Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, United States. Electronic address: michael.adams@ucr.edu.

PMID: 30543770
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2018.12.003

Abstract

Ecdysis triggering hormone receptors (ETHR) regulate the behavioral sequence necessary for cuticle shedding. Recent reports have documented functions for ETHR signaling in adult Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we report that ETHR silencing in local interneurons of the antennal lobes and fruitless neurons leads to sharply increased rates of male-male courtship. RNAseq analysis of ETHR knockdown flies reveals differential expression of genes involved in axon guidance, courtship behavior and chemosensory functions. Our findings indicate an important role for ETHR in regulation of Drosophila courtship behavior through chemosensory processing in the antennal lobe.

Keywords: Antennal lobe interneurons; Aug21-Gal4; Chemosensation; Male-male courtship; Olfactory processing.

MeSH terms

Animals
Arthropod Antennae / innervation*
Central Nervous System / metabolism
Courtship*
Down-Regulation / genetics
Drosophila melanogaster / physiology*
Female
Gene Expression Regulation
Gene Ontology
Interneurons / physiology*
Male
RNA Interference
Receptors, Peptide / genetics
Receptors, Peptide / metabolism*
Sexual Behavior, Animal / physiology*

Substances

Receptors, Peptide
ecdysis-triggering hormone receptor, Drosophila