Nested neural circuits generate distinct acoustic signals during Drosophila courtship

Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved..

Many motor control systems generate multiple movements using a common set of muscles. How are premotor circuits able to flexibly generate diverse movement patterns? Here, we characterize the neuronal circuits that drive the distinct courtship songs of Drosophila melanogaster. Male flies vibrate their wings toward females to produce two different song modes-pulse and sine song-which signal species identity and male quality. Using cell-type-specific genetic reagents and the connectome, we provide a cellular and synaptic map of the circuits in the male ventral nerve cord that generate these songs and examine how activating or inhibiting each cell type within these circuits affects the song. Our data reveal that the song circuit is organized into two nested feedforward pathways with extensive reciprocal and feedback connections. The larger network produces pulse song, the more complex and ancestral song form. A subset of this network produces sine song, the simpler and more recent form. Such nested organization may be a common feature of motor control circuits in which evolution has layered increasing flexibility onto a basic movement pattern.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:34

Enthalten in:

Current biology : CB - 34(2024), 4 vom: 26. Feb., Seite 808-824.e6

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Lillvis, Joshua L [VerfasserIn]
Wang, Kaiyu [VerfasserIn]
Shiozaki, Hiroshi M [VerfasserIn]
Xu, Min [VerfasserIn]
Stern, David L [VerfasserIn]
Dickson, Barry J [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Auditory communication
Behavior
Courtship
Drosophila
Electron microscopy
Journal Article
Motor systems
Optogenetics
Rhythmic

Anmerkungen:

Date Completed 29.02.2024

Date Revised 29.02.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.015

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM368327043