Distinct sensory representations of wind and near-field sound in the Drosophila brain

Suzuko Yorozu (), Allan Wong, Brian J. Fischer, Heiko Dankert, Maurice J. Kernan, Azusa Kamikouchi, Kei Ito and David J. Anderson ()
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Suzuko Yorozu: Division of Biology 216-76,
Allan Wong: Division of Biology 216-76,
Brian J. Fischer: Division of Biology 216-76,
Heiko Dankert: Division of Biology 216-76,
Maurice J. Kernan: SUNY Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794-5239, USA
Azusa Kamikouchi: Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
Kei Ito: Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, University of Tokyo, Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
David J. Anderson: Division of Biology 216-76,

Nature, 2009, vol. 458, issue 7235, 201-205

Abstract: Common senses Mechanotransduction, the translation of mechanical forces into nerve impulses, is the basis of a number of senses including hearing, touch and awareness of gravity. Johnston's organ, a cluster of close to 500 sensory neurons in the Drosophila melanogaster antenna, is known to detect the vibrations of the antenna induced by the courtship song of a potential mate. Two laboratories have now identified additional senses mediating this system: Martin Göpfert and Kei Ito and colleagues show that it detects antennal deflections imposed by gravity, and Yorozu et al. find the same for deflections caused by wind. The behavioural responses to these stimuli are different, however, since different subsets of neurons are stimulated in each case. The way that these distinct mechanical senses are handled by separate neuronal pathways in a single organ is reminiscent of the vestibular division of the human inner ear that allows it to process sound and balance. These studies open the way to further genetic investigation in Drosophila as a broadly relevant model system for the detection of mechanosensory stimuli.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07843

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