Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae

Defecation allows the body to eliminate waste, an essential step in food processing for animal survival. In contrast to the extensive studies of feeding, its obligate counterpart, defecation, has received much less attention until recently. In this study, we report our characterizations of the defec...

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Main Authors:	Wei Zhang, Zhiqiang Yan, Bingxue Li, Lily Yeh Jan, Yuh Nung Jan
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2014-10-01
Series:	eLife
Subjects:	mechanotransduction defecation neural circuitry
Online Access:	https://elifesciences.org/articles/03293

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spelling	doaj-eebb86ce2ec74fbcb760056de1761fd42021-05-04T23:30:28ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2014-10-01310.7554/eLife.03293Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvaeWei Zhang0Zhiqiang Yan1Bingxue Li2Lily Yeh Jan3Yuh Nung Jan4Department of Physiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United StatesDepartment of Physiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, China; Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, Fudan University, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Physiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United StatesDepartment of Physiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United StatesDefecation allows the body to eliminate waste, an essential step in food processing for animal survival. In contrast to the extensive studies of feeding, its obligate counterpart, defecation, has received much less attention until recently. In this study, we report our characterizations of the defecation behavior of Drosophila larvae and its neural basis. Drosophila larvae display defecation cycles of stereotypic frequency, involving sequential contraction of hindgut and anal sphincter. The defecation behavior requires two groups of motor neurons that innervate hindgut and anal sphincter, respectively, and can excite gut muscles directly. These two groups of motor neurons fire sequentially with the same periodicity as the defecation behavior, as revealed by in vivo Ca2+ imaging. Moreover, we identified a single mechanosensitive sensory neuron that innervates the anal slit and senses the opening of the intestine terminus. This anus sensory neuron relies on the TRP channel NOMPC but not on INACTIVE, NANCHUNG, or PIEZO for mechanotransduction.https://elifesciences.org/articles/03293mechanotransductiondefecationneural circuitry
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Wei Zhang Zhiqiang Yan Bingxue Li Lily Yeh Jan Yuh Nung Jan
spellingShingle	Wei Zhang Zhiqiang Yan Bingxue Li Lily Yeh Jan Yuh Nung Jan Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae eLife mechanotransduction defecation neural circuitry
author_facet	Wei Zhang Zhiqiang Yan Bingxue Li Lily Yeh Jan Yuh Nung Jan
author_sort	Wei Zhang
title	Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae
title_short	Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae
title_full	Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae
title_fullStr	Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae
title_full_unstemmed	Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae
title_sort	identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of drosophila larvae
publisher	eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
series	eLife
issn	2050-084X
publishDate	2014-10-01
description	Defecation allows the body to eliminate waste, an essential step in food processing for animal survival. In contrast to the extensive studies of feeding, its obligate counterpart, defecation, has received much less attention until recently. In this study, we report our characterizations of the defecation behavior of Drosophila larvae and its neural basis. Drosophila larvae display defecation cycles of stereotypic frequency, involving sequential contraction of hindgut and anal sphincter. The defecation behavior requires two groups of motor neurons that innervate hindgut and anal sphincter, respectively, and can excite gut muscles directly. These two groups of motor neurons fire sequentially with the same periodicity as the defecation behavior, as revealed by in vivo Ca2+ imaging. Moreover, we identified a single mechanosensitive sensory neuron that innervates the anal slit and senses the opening of the intestine terminus. This anus sensory neuron relies on the TRP channel NOMPC but not on INACTIVE, NANCHUNG, or PIEZO for mechanotransduction.
topic	mechanotransduction defecation neural circuitry
url	https://elifesciences.org/articles/03293
work_keys_str_mv	AT weizhang identificationofmotorneuronsandamechanosensitivesensoryneuroninthedefecationcircuitryofdrosophilalarvae AT zhiqiangyan identificationofmotorneuronsandamechanosensitivesensoryneuroninthedefecationcircuitryofdrosophilalarvae AT bingxueli identificationofmotorneuronsandamechanosensitivesensoryneuroninthedefecationcircuitryofdrosophilalarvae AT lilyyehjan identificationofmotorneuronsandamechanosensitivesensoryneuroninthedefecationcircuitryofdrosophilalarvae AT yuhnungjan identificationofmotorneuronsandamechanosensitivesensoryneuroninthedefecationcircuitryofdrosophilalarvae
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Identification of motor neurons and a mechanosensitive sensory neuron in the defecation circuitry of Drosophila larvae

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