Behavioral Neurobiology
of Drosophila
Dr. E. Axel Gorostiza
Brno, 17.03.2015
A little bit of history.
Charles W. Woodworth (USA)
Entomologist
(April 28, 1865 – November 19, 1940)
William Ernest Castle (USA)
Embryologist and geneticist
(October 25, 1867 – June 3, 1962)
Thomas Hunt Morgan (USA)
evolutionary biologist, geneticist and embryologist
(September 25, 1866 – December 4, 1945)
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1933 was awarded to Thomas H. Morgan
"for his discoveries concerning the role played by the chromosome in heredity".
Why Drosophila?
http://drosophiladrawings.blogspot.de/
http://www.theflyroom.com/
But, what about behavior?
The American Naturalist, Mar., 1905, pp. 157-171
J. Exptl. Zool., 1918, 49–106.
Seymour Benzer
Physicist, molecular biologist and behavioral geneticist
(October 15, 1921 – November 30, 2007)
The father of Neurogenetics
Jerry Hirsch
Behavioral geneticist
(September 20, 1922 – May 3, 2008)
period
perlong pershort per0
Drosophila as a model for neurodegenerative diseases
Drosophila as a model for neurodegenerative diseases
1) To model human diseases.
3) To find modulators, interacting genes or treatments related to diseases.
2) To find genes involved in neurodegeneration or diseases.
Again, why Drosophila?
Again, why Drosophila?
L1: 3 million synapses estimated
100000 neurons
Shafer OT, Taghert PH, PLoS ONE, 2009
L1: 10000 neurons
http://albert.rierol.net/lab.html
Schmidt I. et al, The Journal of
Neuroscience, 2012
Metamorphosis: new body, new neurons, new behaviors
André Klarsfeld et al., The Journal of Neuroscience 2011
C. Helfrich-Förster et al., The Journal of Comparative Neurology 2007
Drosophila’s toolbox
Genetic tools: balancers
fruitless  Sex determination
 Development structures necessary for
courtship:
o Muscle development
o Neurons
 Aggressive behavior
 Male courtship behavior:
o wing vibration
o song production
o mating
o etc.
 etc.
Genetic tools: balancers
Genetic tools: balancers
Genetic tools: transgenic flies
Koen J. T. et al, Development 2007
Drosophila transgenesis: white+ transgene DNA (red) is injected into
generation zero Drosophila embryos (G0) of less than 1 hour old, which
have been obtained from a parental (P) generation.
Genetic tools: transgenic flies
Demir E. & Dickson B, Cell 2005
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Test
32°C
19°C
Neuronal inhibition and activation
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
GAL4 collection + UAS-dTrpA1
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Optogenetics: Channelrodopsin & others
UAS-ChR2
UAS-ReaChR
UAS-Chrimson
UAS-Chronos
Proboscis extension reflex
sugar-sensing gustatory receptor neurons (GRNs)
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Genetic tools: GAL4/UAS and other tools
Calcium activity sensors: GCaMP
Chiappe M.E. et al, Current Biology 2010
Behavioral paradigms
Behavioral paradigms: Taxis
Phototaxis
Geotaxis
Behavioral paradigms: geotaxis
Behavioral paradigms: phototaxis
Otsuna H. et al, Front. Neural Circuits, 2014
Behavioral paradigms: phototaxis
Single fly assay Population assay
Behavioral paradigms: phototaxis
Behavioral paradigms: circadian rhythms & sleep
Ozgur Tataroglu & Patrick Emery, Methods, 2014, 140 - 150
Behavioral paradigms: circadian rhythms & sleep
Behavioral paradigms: gap
Motor coordination
Goal-directed actions
Behavioral paradigms: courtship
Behavioral paradigms: aggression
Tachykinin-expressing neurons
Behavioral paradigms: Buridan
Behavioral paradigms: Buridan
Colomb J and Brembs B, F1000Research 2014
Behavioral paradigms: detour & visual place learning
Behavioral paradigms: olfactory learning
Behavioral paradigms: visual learning
Behavioral paradigms: flight simulator
Brembs, B & Heisenberg, M., J Exp Biol 2001
Thank you!