Ionotropic Receptor-dependent moist and dry cells control hygrosensation in Drosophila
- Brandeis University, United States
- University of Lausanne, Switzerland
- University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Abstract
Insects use hygrosensation (humidity sensing) to avoid desiccation and, in vectors such as mosquitoes, to locate vertebrate hosts. Sensory neurons activated by either dry or moist air ('dry cells' and 'moist cells') have been described in many insects, but their behavioral roles and the molecular basis of their hygrosensitivity remain unclear. We recently reported that Drosophila hygrosensation relies on three Ionotropic Receptors (IRs) required for dry cell function: IR25a, IR93a and IR40a (Knecht et al., 2016). Here we discover Drosophila moist cells, and show they require IR25a and IR93a together with IR68a, a conserved, but orphan IR. Both IR68a- and IR40a-dependent pathways drive hygrosensory behavior: each is important for dry-seeking by hydrated flies and together they underlie moist-seeking by dehydrated flies. These studies reveal that humidity sensing in Drosophila, and likely other insects, involves the combined activity of two molecularly related but neuronally distinct hygrosensing systems.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (F31 DC015155)
- Zachary A Knecht
Boehringer Ingelheim Stiftung
- Vincent Croset
H2020 European Research Council (205202)
- Richard Benton
H2020 European Research Council (615094)
- Richard Benton
Swiss National Science Foundation (31003A_140869)
- Richard Benton
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (P01 GM103770)
- Paul A Garrity
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01 AI22802)
- Paul A Garrity
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2017, Knecht et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Ionotropic Receptor-dependent moist and dry cells control hygrosensation in Drosophila
eLife 6:e26654.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.26654
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