Work

Multiple Phototransduction Inputs Integrate to Mediate UV Light–evoked Avoidance/Attraction Behavior in Drosophila

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Short-wavelength light guides many behaviors that are crucial for an insect’s survival. In Drosophila melanogaster, short-wavelength light induces both attraction and avoidance behaviors. How light cues evoke two opposite valences of behavioral responses remains unclear. Here, we comprehensively examine the effects of (1) light intensity, (2) timing of light (duration of exposure, circadian time of day), and (3) phototransduction mechanisms processing light information that determine avoidance versus attraction behavior assayed at high spatiotemporal resolution in Drosophila. External opsin-based photoreceptors signal for attraction behavior in response to low-intensity ultraviolet (UV) light. In contrast, the cell-autonomous neuronal photoreceptors, CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) and RHODOPSIN 7 (RH7), signal avoidance responses to high-intensity UV light. In addition to binary attraction versus avoidance behavioral responses to UV light, flies show distinct clock-dependent spatial preference within a light environment coded by different light input channels.

Source: Journal of Biological Rhythms

DOI: 10.1177/0748730419847339

Authors: Lisa Soyeon Baik, Yocelyn Recinos, Joshua A. Chevez, David D. Au, Todd C. Holmes

Institution: University of California, Irvine

Language: English

Topic: Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: G1983663218, G9000346073