Natural noncoding pumilio variants retune value-coding interneurons to bias Drosophila oviposition decisions
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: How natural regulatory genetic variation creates innate biases in economic decisions through modifying circuit structure and function is rarely explored. Here, we trace this link in a simple value-based decision in Drosophila : where to oviposit. Although laboratory flies ( w 1118 ) reject sucrose for a plain option, a wild-caught African strain accepts sucrose. This decision difference maps to three African-specific intronic SNPs in pumilio ( pum ), an RNA binding translational repressor. These SNPs down-regulate pum , derepressing its target, the sodium channel paralytic ( para ), in a pair of GABAergic interneurons that encode option value. Elevated para boosts neuronal excitability, compresses value contrast between sucrose and plain options, and promotes sucrose acceptance. Selectively reducing pum or overexpressing para in these neurons converts the laboratory flies’ physiology and behavior to the African phenotype. These findings offer a genome-to-circuit-to-behavior framework, revealing how subtle regulatory polymorphisms fine-tune circuit properties to diversify environment-appropriate decision biases in nature.
Source: Science Advances
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: Hungarian Research Network, National Science Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Agency for International Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, Simons Foundation, Welch Foundation, Harvard Medical School, City University of Hong Kong, Fondation Brain Canada, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Lancaster University, Wellcome Trust, UK Research and Innovation, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, GlaxoSmithKline Japan, Innovative Health Initiative, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, National Institute for Health and Care Research, London Mathematical Society, Orthopaedic Research UK, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Austrian Science Fund, Daegu University, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, China Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Lundbeckfonden, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, National Research Foundation of Korea, Guangdong Medical Research Foundation, Science Fund for Creative Research Groups, China Scholarship Council, National Research Council of Thailand, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, NordForsk, Danmarks Frie Forskningsfond, Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province, Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, Universidad de Alcalá, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Novo Nordisk Fonden, National Health Laboratory Service, LEO Fondet, Key Research and Development Project of Hainan Province, Food Science and Engineering, the Most Important Discipline of Zhejiang Province, Fonds de recherche du Québec, Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca, Robert Koch Institut, CRIS Cancer Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, National Natural Science Foundation of China-Zhejiang Joint Fund for the Integration of Industrialization and Informatization, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Australian Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Agentúra Ministerstva Školstva, Vedy, Výskumu a Športu SR, Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Beijing Science and Technology Planning Project, National Major Science and Technology Projects of China, National College Students Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program, Wenzhou Institute of Biomaterials and Engineering, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, H2020 Societal Challenges, Interreg, H2020 European Research Council, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council, European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
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