Behavioral genetics of thermosensation and hygrosensation in Drosophila
- Creators
- Sayeed, Omer
- Benzer, Seymour
Abstract
Whereas temperature and humidity are critical variables affecting physiology, behavior, and evolution, the genetic and neuronal underpinnings of thermosensation and hygrosensation remain poorly understood. We have initiated a behavioral-genetic investigation of these sensory systems in Drosophila. Behavioral tests are described for the rapid screening of mutants defective in thermosensation and hygrosensation. We demonstrate the strong responses of normal flies to temperature and humidity. Two mutants were found with defects in thermosensation, only one of which is also defective in hygrosensation, indicating that they involve different sensory mechanisms. Ablation experiments further separate these sensory systems by showing that thermoreceptors are housed in the third antennal segment, whereas hygroreceptors are located more distally in the antennal arista.
Additional Information
© 1996 National Academy of Sciences. Contributed by Seymour Benzer, February 12, 1996. We thank Doris Kretzschmar and Erich Schwarz for numerous stimulating discussions during the planning and execution of this research. Doris Kretzschmar also provided mapping information on the bizarre mutation and helped in developing the humidity choice test. Guy Duremburg, Michael Walsh, and Tim Heitzman. Excellent technical assistance was provided by Amparo Gomez (Viveca Sapin). Scott Fraser generously provided the laser system. Alberto Ferrus, Paul Sternberg, and the members of our research group offered helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was funded by a fellowship to O.S. from the Del Webb Foundation and by research grants to S.B. from the National Science Foundation (MCB 9408718), the National Institutes of Health (EY 09278 and AG 12289), and the James G. Boswell Foundation. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact.Attached Files
Published - PNAS-1996-Sayeed-6079-84.pdf
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Additional details
- PMCID
- PMC39192
- Eprint ID
- 52342
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20141203-134357065
- Del Webb Foundation
- NSF
- MCB-9408718
- NIH
- EY 09278
- NIH
- AG 12289
- James G. Boswell Foundation
- Created
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2014-12-04Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field