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#behaviour

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Public
flypapers

📰 "A heart releasing neuropeptide that synchronizes brain-heart regulation during courtship behavior"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#InternalState
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · A heart releasing neuropeptide that synchronizes brain-heart regulation during courtship behaviorDistinct internal states drive varied animal behaviors, yet the mechanisms by which non-neuronal factors encode these states remain largely unknown. Here, we show that cardiac activity regulates internal mating states through a conserved brain-heart axis in male flies and mice. In Drosophila, a ppk23-P1 pathway triggers heart rate acceleration upon female perception via crustacean cardioactive peptide, while the heart secretes ion transport peptide that feeds back onto P1 neurons to enhance courtship. Ejaculation rapidly decreases heart rate via Corazonin, mitigating prolonged tachycardia. In mice, a conserved Substance P-TacR1 pathway modulates courtship. Finally, we developed a computational framework to decode internal mating states from cardiac physiology, revealing distinct cardiac signatures. Our findings unveil a novel role for heart-derived neuropeptides in internal state regulation, elucidate a positive feedback loop between the heart and brain, and demonstrate the evolutionary conservation of the brain-heart axis in orchestrating dynamic behavioral and physiological states. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Intestinal control of feeding initiation in Drosophila melanogaster"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#DrosophilaMelanogaster
#Drosophila #Behaviour #Adult
#Sleep

bioRxiv · Intestinal control of feeding initiation in Drosophila melanogasterThe interplay between feeding and excretion is essential for organismal nutrition and survival, yet their mechanistic coupling remains poorly understood. At the onset of life, feeding must be initiated while developmental waste products — the meconium — need to be eliminated. Using Drosophila as a model system, we explored the in vivo mechanisms coordinating these processes. We developed novel behavioral assays for newly eclosed flies and discovered that, similar to neonatal mammals, Drosophila excrete their meconium shortly after eclosion. Remarkably, feeding initiation occurs only after partial meconium elimination. We identified a cis-regulatory element associated with the apterous gene, which, when disrupted, prevents both meconium excretion and adult feeding initiation. These flies develop hindgut obstruction, avoid food, and exhibit increased proboscis extension sleep — a behaviour we found plays a functional role in waste clearance under normal conditions. Through experimental inhibition of meconium excretion, we established that this process is prerequisite for feeding initiation, suggesting a gut – to – brain signaling circuit that couples these fundamental physiological processes. The progression of phenotypes we observed parallels the hallmarks of mechanical obstruction in humans. Our findings reveal previously unrecognized links between intestinal clearance, feeding behavior, and survival, with potential implications for understanding similar processes across species. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Characterization Eclosion Hormone Receptor function reveals differential hormonal control of ecdysis during Drosophila development."
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · Characterization Eclosion Hormone Receptor function reveals differential hormonal control of ecdysis during Drosophila development.Neuromodulators and peptide hormones play important roles in regulating animal behavior. A well-studied example is ecdysis, which is used by insects to shed their exoskeleton at the end of each molt. Ecdysis is initiated by Ecdysis Triggering Hormone (ETH) and Eclosion Hormone (EH), which interact via positive feedback to coordinate the sequence of behavioral and physiological changes that cause exoskeleton shedding. Whereas the cell types targeted by ETH are well characterized, those targeted by EH have remained largely unknown due to limited characterization of the EH receptor (EHR). A gene encoding an EHR has been described in the oriental fruit fly, B. dorsalis, and in the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. However, little is known in these species about its expression pattern and its precise role at ecdysis, and no other insect EHRs are known. Here we analyze CG10738, the Drosophila ortholog of the B. dorsalis gene encoding EHR, and show that expressing it in cells confers sensitivity to EH. In addition, mutations of CG10738 specifically disrupt ecdysis, phenocopying the knockout of the EH gene. Together, these results indicate that CG10738 encodes the Drosophila EHR. As in B. dorsalis, EHR is expressed in the ETH-producing Inka cells; in addition, it is expressed in many known targets of ETH, including the neurons responsible for the secretion of other ecdysis-related peptides, such as CCAP and EH itself. Our results from targeted knockdown and rescue experiments reveal that EHR is required for ecdysis in diverse cell types and that the role of EHR in different targets differs with developmental stage. Our findings indicate extensive convergence of EH and ETH signaling and provide an exemplar of the complex mechanisms by which hormones control animal behavior. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Hsp90 buffers behavioral plasticity by regulating Pdf transcription in clock neurons of Drosophila melanogaster"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#DrosophilaMelanogaster
#Drosophila #Circadian
#Behaviour

bioRxiv · Hsp90 buffers behavioral plasticity by regulating Pdf transcription in clock neurons of Drosophila melanogasterCircadian rhythms are prevalent on Earth and temporally organize behaviour and physiology of organisms to occur in species-specific ′temporal niches′. However, species differ in how strictly individuals are controlled by their circadian clock, suggesting that it may offer a selective advantage for an individual to extend its temporal niche under certain circumstances, for example during stressful environmental conditions. A potential mechanism controlling temporal niche adherence involves the evolutionary capacitor and chaperon protein HSP90, known to assist the proper folding of important signalling molecules. If HSP90 becomes rate limiting (e.g., under environmental stress) hidden genetic variation will be expressed, producing novel and potentially beneficial phenotypes for the individual. While this role of HSP90 is well established for morphological traits, we show here that it extends to regulation of temporal behavioural patterns. We show that within a small subset of clock neurons in the fly brain, HSP83, the fly homologue of HSP90, mitigates inter-individual behavioural plasticity. We provide evidence for the requirement of HSP83 for efficient transcription of the gene encoding the circadian neuropeptide Pigment Dispersing Factor (PDF), and for correct PDF accumulation in central clock neurons. Strikingly, Hsp83 mutants affect synchronized oscillations of the clock protein PERIOD (PER) in subsets of circadian clock neurons in the same way as flies without PDF, further supporting a role of Hsp83 in regulating Pdf. Our findings therefore provide a mechanistic explanation for HSP83 function in regulation of behavioural plasticity, and offer an explanation for how to restrict temporal niche extension to stressful environmental conditions. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
michael

26-Mar-2025
How #elephants plan their journeys: New study reveals energy-saving strategies

new paper from #Oxford legend Fritz Vollrath

eurekalert.org/news-releases/1 #science #zoology #behaviour #ecology #navigation

EurekAlert!How elephants plan their journeys: New study reveals energy-saving strategiesA new study has revealed that African Elephants have an extraordinary ability to meet their colossal food requirements as efficiently as possible. Data from over 150 elephants demonstrated that these giants plan their journeys based on energy costs and resource availability. The findings – published today (26 March) in the Journal of Animal Ecology– could provide crucial information to help protect these iconic animals and their habitats.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Polyploidy promotes transformation of epithelial cells into non-professional phagocytes"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · Polyploidy promotes transformation of epithelial cells into non-professional phagocytesRemoval of dead and damaged cells is critical for organismal health. Under stress conditions such as nutritional deprivation, infection, or temperature shift, the clearance of nonessential cells becomes a universal strategy to conserve energy and maintain tissue homeostasis. Typically, this task is performed by professional phagocytes such as macrophages. However, non-professional phagocytes (NPPs) can also adopt a phagocytic fate under specific circumstances. Similar to professional phagocytes, NPPs undergo transitions from immature to mature states and activation, but the precise cellular and molecular mechanisms governing their maturation, induction and phagocytic execution remain largely unknown. A notable example of stress-induced phagocytosis is the removal of germline cells by follicle cell-derived NPPs during oogenesis in Drosophila. In this study, we report that the transformation of follicle cells into NPPs is dependent on Notch signaling activation during mid-oogenesis. Moreover, Notch overactivation is sufficient to trigger germline cell death and clearance (GDAC). We further show that polyploidy, driven by Notch signaling-induced endoreplication, is essential for the transformation of follicle cells into NPPs. Polyploidy facilitates the activation of JNK signaling, which is crucial for the phagocytic behavior of these cells. Additionally, we show that polyploidy in epidermal cells, another type of NPPs, is important for their engulfment of dendrites during induced degeneration. Together, these findings suggest that polyploidy is a critical factor in the transformation of epithelial cells into NPPs, enabling their phagocytic functions, which are essential for maintaining cellular and organismal homeostasis during stress conditions. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Goal learning, memory, and drift in the Drosophila head direction system"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · Goal learning, memory, and drift in the Drosophila head direction systemSelecting and memorizing goal direction are essential for navigation behavior. Heading information is represented in the head direction systems across species, including Drosophila. However, how navigation decisions are made and how goal memories are represented in these systems is little understood. Here, using a navigation learning assay for flies walking in virtual reality during two-photon imaging, we describe neural dynamics for direction selection and memory. We find that neurons which encode walking direction in the fan-shaped body, a navigation and learning related area in the center of the fly brain, show continuing autonomous activity or directional drift when the animal is at rest. Drift during rest centers around opposite directions to activity during walking, suggesting different computations between these two behavioral states. Targeted optogenetic activation of these neurons during rest is sufficient to induce a subsequent directional navigation preference. Learning leads to changes in drift distributions during rest depending on goal direction, revealing a memory in the network. The fly head direction system thus offers a compact architecture for direction selection, learning, and memory. Changes in neural representations due to goal learning and between rest and walking suggest similarities in navigation circuits across species. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Multimodal social context modulates behavior in larval Drosophila"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#Drosophila #Behaviour #Sensory
#Larva

bioRxiv · Multimodal social context modulates behavior in larval DrosophilaAll animals need to navigate and make decisions in social environments. They influence each other's behavior, but how important this is and how they process and represent social information in their brain is less well understood. This includes fruit flies and fly larvae, which are usually not known as social insects. Using a Drosophila larva assay with reduced stimulation, we found that larval groups show enhanced dispersal and distance from each other in the absence of food. This social context-dependent modulation overrides responses to other external sensory cues and is shaped by developmental social experience. Leveraging the genetic toolbox available in Drosophila , we find that different sensory modalities are required for normal social context modulation. Our results show that even less social animals like fly larvae are affected by conspecifics and that they recognize each other through multimodal sensory cues. This study provides a tractable system for future dissection of the neural circuit mechanisms underlying social interactions. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Does female post-copulatory preference depend on pre-copulatory choice and post-mating environment?"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#DrosophilaMelanogaster
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · Does female post-copulatory preference depend on pre-copulatory choice and post-mating environment?Sexual selection operates across pre- and post-copulatory episodes, driven by intra-sexual competition and inter-sexual choice for mates or gametes. In females, sexual selection often manifests as choosiness, however pre- and post-copulatory preferences can be in opposing directions. While relationships between male pre- and post-copulatory traits are well-studied, these relationships are less understood in females. Additionally, female post-copulatory environments can potentially influence post-copulatory choosiness, but this has been little investigated. Using Drosophila melanogaster, we explored whether mating latency, a proxy for inter-sexual pre-copulatory choosiness, correlates with female ejaculate ejection behaviour, a proxy for post-copulatory choosiness. We further tested whether the presence of a male in the female's post-copulatory environment influences her ejection behaviour. We found no significant effect of male presence. However, males with longer mating latencies experience a smaller proportion of their sperm ejected, suggesting that males preferred as mates may produce sperm less favoured for fertilization. This finding might possible trade-offs between male investment in courtship and ejaculates. Our study highlights that female-mediated sexual selection at pre- and post-copulatory stages can shape sexual traits in complex ways. This has implications for sexual conflict, possibly providing an explanation for the maintenance of variation in sexually selected traits. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Peptidergic top-down control of metabolic state-dependent behavioral decisions in a conflicting sensory context"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#InternalState
#Drosophila #Metabolism #Behaviour #Sensory
#Larva

bioRxiv · Peptidergic top-down control of metabolic state-dependent behavioral decisions in a conflicting sensory contextAnimals make economically beneficial behavioral decisions by integrating the external sensory environment with their internal state. The metabolic state, i.e. hunger, can shift priorities, prompting risk-taking and reducing responses to danger during foraging activities. How behavioral changes are processed in the nervous system to generate flexible responses based on needs and risks remains largely unclear. Here, we demonstrate in Drosophila larvae that the corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) homolog diuretic hormone 44 (Dh44) and its producing neurons exert metabolic top-down control of behavioral choice in a conflicting sensory context. The metabolic state via Dh44 signaling mediates the transition from avoiding to tolerating aversive light conditions in the presence of food. In vivo imaging of neuropeptide release revealed that Dh44 regulates the acute release of Insulin-like peptide 7 (Ilp7) specifically in a conflicting context, thereby inducing light tolerance. Optogenetic activation of specific subsets of Dh44 or Ilp7 producing neurons during starvation is sufficient to shift behavior from light tolerance to avoidance by regulating light avoidance circuit responses. This top-down feedforward peptidergic circuit may represent a general mechanism that helps organisms to balance risk-taking with metabolic needs by allowing flexible adjustment of behavior in a conflicting multisensory environment. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
Public
flypapers

📰 "Persistent viral infections impact key biological traits in Drosophila melanogaster"
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/20
#DrosophilaMelanogaster
#Drosophila #Behaviour

bioRxiv · Persistent viral infections impact key biological traits in Drosophila melanogasterPersistent viral infections have been assumed to have minimal fitness costs for insects. Using Drosophila melanogaster , we established persistent mono-infections with four different enteric RNA viruses (Drosophila A virus, Drosophila C virus, Bloomfield virus, and Nora virus) and observed that these infections significantly reduce fly survival, alter the number of viable offspring per female, modulate microbiome composition, and impact locomotor abilities. These results demonstrate significant impacts of persistent viral infections on key biological traits and challenge the assumption of the innocuity of persistent viral infections for the host. In addition, the four viruses displayed different accumulation kinetics and elicited unique transcriptional profiles with no common core responses. The transcriptional changes triggered by DCV infection persisted even after viral clearance. Our findings reveal that persistent viral infections modulate critical aspects of insect biology and can have negative impacts on host physiology and behavior. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
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