The Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel (K4) Contributes to Active Hearing in .

The full complement of ion channels which influence insect auditory mechanotransduction and the mechanisms by which their influence is exerted remain unclear. (K4), a family member encoding voltage-gated potassium channels in , has been shown to localize to dendrites in some neuron types, suggesting the potential role of in hearing, including mechanotransduction. A GFP trap was used to visualize the localization of the channel in Johnston's organ neurons responsible for hearing in the antenna.

Differences in male and hearing systems facilitate recognition of conspecific female flight tones.

When mosquitoes invade regions predominated by , either the latter can be displaced or the species can coexist, with potential consequences on disease transmission. Males from both species identify females by listening for her flight sounds. Comparing male hearing systems may provide insight into how hearing could prevent interspecific mating.

Two distinct functions of in the antenna.

The transcription factor is required in for patterning the eye-antennal disk. At the adult stage, is strongly expressed in Johnston's Organ (JO) neurons, the antennal auditory organ. Using RNAi-mediated knockdown of using a strong neuronal driver, we find a significant reduction in electrophysiological responses to auditory stimuli, recorded from the antennal nerve.

Reflective environment heightens crayfish aggressive and fearful behaviors.

Animals typically respond to their reflection as a conspecific and will respond as if the reflection were another animal that they could interact with, either fearfully or aggressively. We investigated how a modified reflective environment of a standard glass aquarium affects the aggressive and fearful behaviors of the crayfish , based on pre-determined behavior criteria. We found that the crayfish were both increasingly aggressive and slightly fearful in the reflective environment compared to minimal behavioral changes in the control non-reflective environment.

Comparative exploration of mammalian deafness gene homologues in the Drosophila auditory organ shows genetic correlation between insect and vertebrate hearing.

Johnston's organ, the Drosophila auditory organ, is anatomically very different from the mammalian organ of Corti. However, recent evidence indicates significant cellular and molecular similarities exist between vertebrate and invertebrate hearing, suggesting that Drosophila may be a useful platform to determine the function of the many mammalian deafness genes whose underlying biological mechanisms are poorly characterized. Our goal was a comprehensive screen of all known orthologues of mammalian deafness genes in the fruit fly to better understand conservation of hearing mechanisms between the insect and the fly and ultimately gain insight into human hereditary deafness.