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Egg-laying demand induces aversion of UV light in Drosophila females.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Zhu, EY; Guntur, AR; He, R; Stern, U; Yang, C-H
Published in: Curr Biol
December 1, 2014

Drosophila melanogaster females are highly selective about the chemosensory quality of their egg-laying sites, an important trait that promotes the survival and fitness of their offspring. How egg-laying females respond to UV light is not known, however. UV is a well-documented phototactic cue for adult Drosophila, but it is an aversive cue for larvae. Here, we show that female flies exhibit UV aversion in response to their egg-laying demand. First, females exhibit egg-laying aversion of UV: they prefer to lay eggs on dark sites when choosing between UV-illuminated and dark sites. Second, they also exhibit movement aversion of UV: positional tracking of single females suggests that egg-laying demand increases their tendency to turn away from UV. Genetic manipulations of the retina suggest that egg-laying and movement aversion of UV are both mediated by the inner (R7) and not the outer (R1-R6) photoreceptors. Finally, we show that the Dm8 amacrine neurons, a synaptic target of R7 photoreceptors and a mediator of UV spectral preference, are dispensable for egg-laying aversion but essential for movement aversion of UV. This study suggests that egg-laying demand can temporarily convert UV into an aversive cue for female Drosophila and that R7 photoreceptors recruit different downstream targets to control different egg-laying-induced behavioral modifications.

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Published In

Curr Biol

DOI

EISSN

1879-0445

Publication Date

December 1, 2014

Volume

24

Issue

23

Start / End Page

2797 / 2804

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Ultraviolet Rays
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate
  • Phospholipase C beta
  • Oviposition
  • Neurons
  • Mutation
  • Male
  • Female
  • Drosophila melanogaster
  • Drosophila Proteins
 

Citation

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Zhu, E. Y., Guntur, A. R., He, R., Stern, U., & Yang, C.-H. (2014). Egg-laying demand induces aversion of UV light in Drosophila females. Curr Biol, 24(23), 2797–2804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.076
Zhu, Edward Y., Ananya R. Guntur, Ruo He, Ulrich Stern, and Chung-Hui Yang. “Egg-laying demand induces aversion of UV light in Drosophila females.Curr Biol 24, no. 23 (December 1, 2014): 2797–2804. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.076.
Zhu EY, Guntur AR, He R, Stern U, Yang C-H. Egg-laying demand induces aversion of UV light in Drosophila females. Curr Biol. 2014 Dec 1;24(23):2797–804.
Zhu, Edward Y., et al. “Egg-laying demand induces aversion of UV light in Drosophila females.Curr Biol, vol. 24, no. 23, Dec. 2014, pp. 2797–804. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.076.
Zhu EY, Guntur AR, He R, Stern U, Yang C-H. Egg-laying demand induces aversion of UV light in Drosophila females. Curr Biol. 2014 Dec 1;24(23):2797–2804.
Journal cover image

Published In

Curr Biol

DOI

EISSN

1879-0445

Publication Date

December 1, 2014

Volume

24

Issue

23

Start / End Page

2797 / 2804

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Ultraviolet Rays
  • Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate
  • Phospholipase C beta
  • Oviposition
  • Neurons
  • Mutation
  • Male
  • Female
  • Drosophila melanogaster
  • Drosophila Proteins