Publication Date:
2015-10-24
Description:
The relationship between microRNA (miRNA) regulation and the specification of behavior is only beginning to be explored. We found that mutation of a single miRNA locus (miR-iab4/iab8) in Drosophila larvae affects the animal's capacity to correct its orientation if turned upside down (self-righting). One of the miRNA targets involved in this behavior is the Hox gene Ultrabithorax, whose derepression in two metameric neurons leads to self-righting defects. In vivo neural activity analysis reveals that these neurons, the self-righting node (SRN), have different activity patterns in wild type and miRNA mutants, whereas thermogenetic manipulation of SRN activity results in changes in self-righting behavior. Our work thus reveals a miRNA-encoded behavior and suggests that other miRNAs might also be involved in behavioral control in Drosophila and other species.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Picao-Osorio, Joao -- Johnston, Jamie -- Landgraf, Matthias -- Berni, Jimena -- Alonso, Claudio R -- 092986/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 098410/Z/12/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- 105568/Z/14/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- BB/I022414/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Nov 13;350(6262):815-20. doi: 10.1126/science.aad0217. Epub 2015 Oct 22.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK. ; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK. ; Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Science, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK. c.alonso@sussex.ac.uk.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26494171" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Animals
;
Behavior, Animal/*physiology
;
Drosophila Proteins/genetics
;
Drosophila melanogaster/genetics/*physiology
;
Gene Expression Regulation
;
Genetic Loci
;
Homeodomain Proteins/genetics
;
Larva/genetics/physiology
;
MicroRNAs/genetics/*physiology
;
Mutation
;
Neurons/physiology
;
Orientation/*physiology
;
Transcription Factors/genetics
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
