6533b862fe1ef96bd12c6dd4
RESEARCH PRODUCT
A screen for constituents of motor control and decision making in Drosophila reveals visual distance-estimation neurons
Aljoscha NernRoland StraussTilman TriphanDaniel Q. NaimanWyatt KorffSonia F. RobertsSonia F. Robertssubject
0301 basic medicineMaleFormative FeedbackDecision MakingWalkingBiologyMotor ActivityArticle03 medical and health sciencesInterneuronsddc:570Expression analysisAnimalsDrosophilaMultidisciplinarybusiness.industryDistance PerceptionOptic Lobe NonmammalianMotor controlDepolarizationbiology.organism_classificationVisual distance030104 developmental biologyDrosophila melanogasterClimbingGap widthFemaleArtificial intelligencebusinessNeurosciencehuman activitiesdescription
AbstractClimbing over chasms larger than step size is vital to fruit flies, since foraging and mating are achieved while walking. Flies avoid futile climbing attempts by processing parallax-motion vision to estimate gap width. To identify neuronal substrates of climbing control, we screened a large collection of fly lines with temporarily inactivated neuronal populations in a novel high-throughput assay described here. The observed climbing phenotypes were classified; lines in each group are reported. Selected lines were further analysed by high-resolution video cinematography. One striking class of flies attempts to climb chasms of unsurmountable width; expression analysis guided us to C2 optic-lobe interneurons. Inactivation of C2 or the closely related C3 neurons with highly specific intersectional driver lines consistently reproduced hyperactive climbing whereas strong or weak artificial depolarization of C2/C3 neurons strongly or mildly decreased climbing frequency. Contrast-manipulation experiments support our conclusion that C2/C3 neurons are part of the distance-evaluation system.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-01-28 |