Axonemal Dynein DNAH5 is Required for Sound Sensation in Drosophila Larvae / 神经科学通报·英文版

Chordotonal neurons are responsible for sound sensation in Drosophila. However, little is known about how they respond to sound with high sensitivity. Using genetic labeling, we found one of the Drosophila axonemal dynein heavy chains, CG9492 (DNAH5), was specifically expressed in larval chordotonal neurons and showed a distribution restricted to proximal cilia. While DNAH5 mutation did not affect the cilium morphology or the trafficking of Inactive, a candidate auditory transduction channel, larvae with DNAH5 mutation had reduced startle responses to sound at low and medium intensities. Calcium imaging confirmed that DNAH5 functioned autonomously in chordotonal neurons for larval sound sensation. Furthermore, disrupting DNAH5 resulted in a decrease of spike firing responses to low-level sound in chordotonal neurons. Intriguingly, DNAH5 mutant larvae displayed an altered frequency tuning curve of the auditory organs. All together, our findings support a critical role of DNAH5 in tuning the frequency selectivity and the sound sensitivity of larval auditory neurons.

Proteins of the brain and body wall in larvae of Drosophila melanogaster.

Proteins of the brain and body wall cells of third instar larvae of Drosophila melanogaster have been examined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Out of over 600 [ 35 S ]-labelled peptide spots seen in brain or body wall extracts, 517 were common to both; 61 spots were unique to brain and 66 unique to muscle. Glycoproteins were identified by soaking the gels in radioactive iodinated Concanavalin-A. Forty four Con-Α binding glycoproteins were identifiable in the brain and 41 in the muscle extracts. Out of these, 8 glycoproteins of the brain and 8 of muscles appear to be tissue-specific.