TY - JOUR TI - A dopamine-gated learning circuit underpins reproductive state-dependent odor preference in Drosophila females AU - Boehm, Ariane C AU - Friedrich, Anja B AU - Hunt, Sydney AU - Bandow, Paul AU - Siju, KP AU - De Backer, Jean Francois AU - Claussen, Julia AU - Link, Marie Helen AU - Hofmann, Thomas F AU - Dawid, Corinna AU - Grunwald Kadow, Ilona C A2 - Sen, Sonia A2 - VijayRaghavan, K A2 - Sen, Sonia VL - 11 PY - 2022 DA - 2022/09/21 SP - e77643 C1 - eLife 2022;11:e77643 DO - 10.7554/eLife.77643 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77643 AB - Motherhood induces a drastic, sometimes long-lasting, change in internal state and behavior in many female animals. How a change in reproductive state or the discrete event of mating modulates specific female behaviors is still incompletely understood. Using calcium imaging of the whole brain of Drosophila females, we find that mating does not induce a global change in brain activity. Instead, mating modulates the pheromone response of dopaminergic neurons innervating the fly’s learning and memory center, the mushroom body (MB). Using the mating-induced increased attraction to the odor of important nutrients, polyamines, we show that disruption of the female fly’s ability to smell, for instance the pheromone cVA, during mating leads to a reduction in polyamine preference for days later indicating that the odor environment at mating lastingly influences female perception and choice behavior. Moreover, dopaminergic neurons including innervation of the β’1 compartment are sufficient to induce the lasting behavioral increase in polyamine preference. We further show that MB output neurons (MBON) of the β’1 compartment are activated by pheromone odor and their activity during mating bidirectionally modulates preference behavior in mated and virgin females. Their activity is not required, however, for the expression of polyamine attraction. Instead, inhibition of another type of MBON innervating the β’2 compartment enables expression of high odor attraction. In addition, the response of a lateral horn (LH) neuron, AD1b2, which output is required for the expression of polyamine attraction, shows a modulated polyamine response after mating. Taken together, our data in the fly suggests that mating-related sensory experience regulates female odor perception and expression of choice behavior through a dopamine-gated learning circuit. KW - olfactory system KW - mushroom body KW - Drosophila KW - neural circuits KW - internal state KW - imaging KW - mating state KW - polyamine KW - female behavior JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -