TY - JOUR
T1 - Drosophila gustatory preference behaviors require the atypical soluble guanylyl cyclases
AU - Vermehren-Schmaedick, Anke
AU - Scudder, Charles
AU - Timmermans, Wendy
AU - Morton, David B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments This study would not have been possible without the resources available from FlyBase and the Bloomington Stock Center. The authors wish to thank Dr. Dennis Hazelett and Ms. Judy Stewart for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript. We also thank Dr. John Carlson (Yale University, CT) for the Gr66a-RFP fly line. This research was supported by a grant NS29740 from NINDS to DBM.
PY - 2011/7
Y1 - 2011/7
N2 - The intracellular messenger cGMP has been suggested to play a role in taste signal transduction in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the present study, we have examined the role of the Drosophila atypical soluble guanylyl cyclases (sGCs), Gyc-89Da and Gyc-89Db, in larval and adult gustatory preference behaviors. We showed that in larvae, sucrose attraction requires Gyc-89Db and caffeine avoidance requires Gyc-89Da. In adult flies, sucrose attraction is unaffected by mutations in either gene whereas avoidance of low concentrations of caffeine is eliminated by loss of either gene. Similar defective behaviors were observed when cGMP increases were prevented by the expression of a cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase. We also showed that both genes were expressed in gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) in larval and adult gustatory organs, primarily in a non-overlapping pattern, with the exception of a small group of cells in the adult labellum. In addition, in adults, several cells co-expressed the bitter taste receptor, Gr66a, with either Gyc-89Da or Gyc-89Db. We also showed that the electrophysiological responses of a GRN to caffeine were significantly reduced in flies mutant for the atypical sGCs, suggesting that at least part of the adult behavioral defects were due to a reduced ability to detect caffeine.
AB - The intracellular messenger cGMP has been suggested to play a role in taste signal transduction in both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the present study, we have examined the role of the Drosophila atypical soluble guanylyl cyclases (sGCs), Gyc-89Da and Gyc-89Db, in larval and adult gustatory preference behaviors. We showed that in larvae, sucrose attraction requires Gyc-89Db and caffeine avoidance requires Gyc-89Da. In adult flies, sucrose attraction is unaffected by mutations in either gene whereas avoidance of low concentrations of caffeine is eliminated by loss of either gene. Similar defective behaviors were observed when cGMP increases were prevented by the expression of a cGMP-specific phosphodiesterase. We also showed that both genes were expressed in gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs) in larval and adult gustatory organs, primarily in a non-overlapping pattern, with the exception of a small group of cells in the adult labellum. In addition, in adults, several cells co-expressed the bitter taste receptor, Gr66a, with either Gyc-89Da or Gyc-89Db. We also showed that the electrophysiological responses of a GRN to caffeine were significantly reduced in flies mutant for the atypical sGCs, suggesting that at least part of the adult behavioral defects were due to a reduced ability to detect caffeine.
KW - Drosophila
KW - Guanylyl cyclase
KW - Gustatory receptor neurons
KW - Taste preference
KW - cGMP
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U2 - 10.1007/s00359-011-0634-9
DO - 10.1007/s00359-011-0634-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 21350862
AN - SCOPUS:79959289733
SN - 0340-7594
VL - 197
SP - 717
EP - 727
JO - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
JF - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
IS - 7
ER -