Intense light unleashes male-male courtship behaviour in wild-type .

courtship studies have elucidated several principles of the neurogenetic organization of complex behaviour. Through an integration across sensory modalities, males perform stereotypic patterns of chasing, courtship song production and copulation attempts. Here we report a serendipitous finding that intense light not only enhances courtship toward female targets but also triggers unexpected courtship behaviours among male flies.

Abnormal larval neuromuscular junction morphology and physiology in prickle isoform mutants with known axonal transport defects and adult seizure behavior.

Previous studies have demonstrated the striking mutational effects of the planar cell polarity gene on larval motor axon microtubule-mediated vesicular transport and on adult epileptic behavior associated with neuronal circuit hyperexcitability. Mutant alleles of the - () and - () isoforms (hereafter referred to as and alleles, respectively) exhibit differential phenotypes. While both and affect larval motor axon transport, only confers motor circuit and behavior hyperexcitability.

carrying epilepsy-associated variants in the vitamin B6 metabolism gene display allele- and diet-dependent phenotypes.

Pyridox(am)ine 5 -phosphate oxidase (PNPO) catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the synthesis of pyridoxal 5 -phosphate (PLP), the active form of vitamin B6 required for the synthesis of neurotransmitters gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the monoamines. Pathogenic variants in have been increasingly identified in patients with neonatal epileptic encephalopathy and early-onset epilepsy. These patients often exhibit different types of seizures and variable comorbidities.

Distinct Aging-Vulnerable and -Resilient Trajectories of Specific Motor Circuit Functions in Oxidation- and Temperature-Stressed .

In , molecular pathways affecting longevity have been extensively studied. However, corresponding neurophysiological changes underlying aging-related functional and behavioral deteriorations remain to be fully explored. We examined different motor circuits in across the life span and uncovered distinctive age-resilient and age-vulnerable trajectories in their established functional properties.

Fly seizure EEG: field potential activity in the brain.

Hypersynchronous neural activity is a characteristic feature of seizures. Although many mutants of epilepsy-related genes display clear behavioral spasms and motor unit hyperexcitability, field potential measurements of aberrant hypersynchronous activity across brain regions during seizures have yet to be described. Here, we report a straightforward method to observe local field potentials (LFPs) from the brain to monitor ensemble neural activity during seizures in behaving tethered flies.

Differential effects on neuromuscular physiology between loss-of-function mutation and paraquat-induced oxidative stress in .

Oxidative stress is thought to be a major contributor to aging processes. Here, we report differential effects on neurotransmission caused by loss-of-function mutations of () and by paraquat (PQ) feeding in . We demonstrated alterations in mutants; the larval neuromuscular junction displayed supernumerary discharges and the adult giant-fiber escape pathway showed increased latency and poor response to repetitive high-frequency stimulation.

Comprehensive transcriptome analysis of faba bean in response to vernalization.

This study unravels the transcriptional response of a highly productive faba bean cultivar under vernalization treatment. Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is a member of the Leguminosae family and an important food crop worldwide providing valuable nutrients for humans.

Pyridox (am) ine 5'-phosphate oxidase deficiency induces seizures in Drosophila melanogaster.

Pyridox (am) ine 5'-phosphate oxidase (PNPO) is a rate-limiting enzyme in converting dietary vitamin B6 (VB6) to pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP), the biologically active form of VB6 and involved in the synthesis of neurotransmitters including γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), dopamine, and serotonin. In humans, PNPO mutations have been increasingly identified in neonatal epileptic encephalopathy and more recently also in early-onset epilepsy. Till now, little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying PNPO-deficiency-induced seizures due to the lack of animal models.

Milk-whey diet substantially suppresses seizure-like phenotypes of , a voltage-gated sodium channel mutant.

The mutant harbors a dominant, gain-of-function allele of the voltage-gated sodium channel gene, (). The mutant flies display severe seizure-like phenotypes, including neuronal hyperexcitability, spontaneous spasms, ether-induced leg shaking, and heat-induced convulsions. We unexpectedly found that two distinct food recipes used routinely in the research community result in a striking difference in severity of the phenotypes.

Distinctions among electroconvulsion- and proconvulsant-induced seizure discharges and native motor patterns during flight and grooming: quantitative spike pattern analysis in flight muscles.

In , high-frequency electrical stimulation across the brain triggers a highly stereotypic repertoire of spasms. These electroconvulsive seizures (ECS) manifest as distinctive spiking discharges across the nervous system and can be stably assessed throughout the seizure repertoire in the large indirect flight muscles dorsal longitudinal muscles (DLMs) to characterize modifications in seizure-prone mutants. However, the relationships between ECS-spike patterns and native motor programs, including flight and grooming, are not known and their similarities and distinctions remain to be characterized.

Inter-relationships among physical dimensions, distal-proximal rank orders, and basal GCaMP fluorescence levels in Ca imaging of functionally distinct synaptic boutons at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions.

GCaMP imaging is widely employed for investigating neuronal Ca dynamics. The Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction (NMJ) consists of three distinct types of motor terminals (type Ib, Is and II). We investigated whether variability in synaptic bouton sizes and GCaMP expression levels confound interpretations of GCaMP readouts, in inferring the intrinsic Ca handling properties among these functionally distinct synapses.

Unraveling Synaptic GCaMP Signals: Differential Excitability and Clearance Mechanisms Underlying Distinct Ca Dynamics in Tonic and Phasic Excitatory, and Aminergic Modulatory Motor Terminals in .

GCaMP is an optogenetic Ca sensor widely used for monitoring neuronal activities but the precise physiological implications of GCaMP signals remain to be further delineated among functionally distinct synapses. The neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a powerful genetic system for studying synaptic function and plasticity, consists of tonic and phasic glutamatergic and modulatory aminergic motor terminals of distinct properties. We report a first simultaneous imaging and electric recording study to directly contrast the frequency characteristics of GCaMP signals of the three synapses for physiological implications.

iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis in vernalization-treated faba bean (Vicia faba L.).

Vernalization is classically defined as the induction of flowering process by exposure of the plants to a prolonged cold condition. Normally, it is considered as a precondition of flowering. Vicia faba, commonly known as faba bean, belongs to family Fabaceae.

Generation and characterization of new alleles of quiver (qvr) that encodes an extracellular modulator of the Shaker potassium channel.

Our earlier genetic screen uncovered a paraquat-sensitive leg-shaking mutant quiver (qvr), whose gene product interacts with the Shaker (Sh) K channel. We also mapped the qvr locus to EY04063 and noticed altered day-night activity patterns in these mutants. Such circadian behavioral defects were independently reported by another group, who employed the qvr allele we supplied them, and attributed the extreme restless phenotype of EY04063 to the qvr gene.