Johnston’s organ is the largest mechanosensory organ in Drosophila; it analyzes movements of the antenna due to sound, wind, gravity, and touch. Different Johnston’s organ neurons (JONs) encode distinct stimulus features. Certain JONs respond in a sustained manner to steady displacements, and these JONs subdivide into opponent populations that prefer push or pull displacements. Here, we describe neurons in the brain (aPN3 neurons) that combine excitation and inhibition from push/pull JONs in different ratios. Consequently, different aPN3 neurons are sensitive to movement in different parts of the antenna’s range, at different frequencies, or at different amplitude modulation rates. We use a model to show how the tuning of aPN3 neurons can arise from rectification and temporal filtering in JONs, followed by mixing of JON signals in different proportions. These results illustrate how several canonical neural circuit components—rectification, opponency, and filtering—can combine to produce selectivity for complex stimulus features.

Low dose imaging procedures are key for a successful cryoEM experiment (whether by electron cryotomography, single particle analysis, electron crystallography, or MicroED). We present a method to minimize magnetic hysteresis of the condenser lens system in the JEOL JEM-3200FSC transmission electron microscope (TEM) in order to maintain a stable optical axis for the beam path of low-dose imaging. The simple procedure involves independent voltage ramping of the CL1 and CL2 lenses immediately before switching to the focusing and exposure beam settings for data collection.

Motor behaviors are often planned long before execution but only released after specific sensory events. Planning and execution are each associated with distinct patterns of motor cortex activity. Key questions are how these dynamic activity patterns are generated and how they relate to behavior. Here, we investigate the multi-regional neural circuits that link an auditory "Go cue" and the transition from planning to execution of directional licking. Ascending glutamatergic neurons in the midbrain reticular and pedunculopontine nuclei show short latency and phasic changes in spike rate that are selective for the Go cue. This signal is transmitted via the thalamus to the motor cortex, where it triggers a rapid reorganization of motor cortex state from planning-related activity to a motor command, which in turn drives appropriate movement. Our studies show how midbrain can control cortical dynamics via the thalamus for rapid and precise motor behavior.

Flying insects exhibit stunning behavioral repertoires that are largely mediated by the visual control of flight. For this reason, presenting a controlled visual environment to tethered insects has been and continues to be a powerful tool for studying the sensory control of complex behaviors. To create an easily controlled, scalable, and customizable visual stimulus, we have designed a modular system, based on panels composed of an 8 x 8 array of individual LEDs, that may be connected together to ’tile’ an experimental environment with controllable displays. The panels have been designed to be extremely bright, with the added flexibility of individual-pixel brightness control, allowing experimentation over a broad range of behaviorally relevant conditions. Patterns to be displayed may be designed using custom software, downloaded to a controller board, and displayed on the individually addressed panels via a rapid communication interface. The panels are controlled by a microprocessor-based display controller which, for most experiments, will not require a computer in the loop, greatly reducing the experimental infrastructure. This technology allows an experimenter to build and program a visual arena with a customized geometry in a matter of hours. To demonstrate the utility of this system, we present results from experiments with tethered Drosophila melanogaster: (1) in a cylindrical arena composed of 44 panels, used to test the contrast dependence of object orientation behavior, and (2) above a 30-panel floor display, used to examine the effects of ground motion on orientation during flight.

The transformer (tra) gene regulates all aspects of somatic sexual differentiation in Drosophila melanogaster females and has no function in males. We have isolated the tra gene as part of a 200 kb chromosomal walk. The 25 kb region around tra contains four genetically identified complementation groups and at least six transcriptional units. Germ-line transformation experiments indicate that a fragment of 2 kb is sufficient to supply tra+ function. Mapping of cDNAs from tra and from the adjacent genes indicates that the tra+ transcription unit is 1.2 kb or less. This transcription unit gives rise to a 1.0 kb RNA that is female-specific and a 1.2 kb RNA that is present in both sexes. tra+ and the gene at the 3' side overlap slightly in the 3' ends of their RNA coding sequences. These results suggest that tra+ function is regulated at the level of production of the female-specific tra RNA. The fact that a tra transcript is found in males raises interesting possibilities for how tra expression is controlled.

Light-induced photoreceptor apoptosis occurs in many forms of inherited retinal degeneration resulting in blindness in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Though mutations in several photoreceptor signaling proteins have been implicated in triggering this process, the molecular events relating light activation of rhodopsin to photoreceptor death are yet unclear. Here, we uncover a pathway by which activation of rhodopsin in Drosophila mediates apoptosis through a G protein-independent mechanism. This process involves the formation of membrane complexes of phosphorylated, activated rhodopsin and its inhibitory protein arrestin, and subsequent clathrin-dependent endocytosis of these complexes into a cytoplasmic compartment. Together, these data define the proapoptotic molecules in Drosophila photoreceptors and indicate a novel signaling pathway for light-activated rhodopsin molecules in control of photoreceptor viability.

Manduca sexta larvae are a model for growth control in insects, particularly for the demonstration of critical weight, a threshold weight that the larva must surpass before it can enter metamorphosis on a normal schedule, and the inhibitory action of juvenile hormone on this checkpoint. We examined the effects of nutrition on allatectomized (CAX) larvae that lack juvenile hormone to impose the critical weight checkpoint. Normal larvae respond to prolonged starvation at the start of the last larval stage, by extending their subsequent feeding period to ensure that they begin metamorphosis above critical weight. CAX larvae, by contrast, show no homeostatic adjustment to starvation but start metamorphosis 4 d after feeding onset, regardless of larval size or the state of development of their imaginal discs. By feeding starved CAX larvae for various durations, we found that feeding for only 12-24 h was sufficient to result in metamorphosis on day 4, regardless of further feeding or body size. Manipulation of diet composition showed that protein was the critical macronutrient to initiate this timing. This constant period between the start of feeding and the onset of metamorphosis suggests that larvae possess a molt timer that establishes a minimal time to metamorphosis. Ligation experiments indicate that a portion of the timing may occur in the prothoracic glands. This positive system that promotes molting and the negative control via the critical weight checkpoint provide antagonistic pathways that evolution can modify to adapt growth to the ecological needs of different insects.

Activity in motor cortex predicts specific movements seconds before they occur, but how this preparatory activity relates to upcoming movements is obscure. We dissected the conversion of preparatory activity to movement within a structured motor cortex circuit. An anterior lateral region of the mouse cortex (a possible homologue of premotor cortex in primates) contains equal proportions of intermingled neurons predicting ipsi- or contralateral movements, yet unilateral inactivation of this cortical region during movement planning disrupts contralateral movements. Using cell-type-specific electrophysiology, cellular imaging and optogenetic perturbation, we show that layer 5 neurons projecting within the cortex have unbiased laterality. Activity with a contralateral population bias arises specifically in layer 5 neurons projecting to the brainstem, and only late during movement planning. These results reveal the transformation of distributed preparatory activity into movement commands within hierarchically organized cortical circuits.

The basement membrane (BM) is a thin layer of extracellular matrix (ECM) beneath nearly all epithelial cell types that is critical for cellular and tissue function. It is composed of numerous components conserved among all bilaterians [1]; however, it is unknown how all of these components are generated and subsequently constructed to form a fully mature BM in the living animal. Although BM formation is thought to simply involve a process of self-assembly [2], this concept suffers from a number of logistical issues when considering its construction in vivo. First, incorporation of BM components appears to be hierarchical [3-5], yet it is unclear whether their production during embryogenesis must also be regulated in a temporal fashion. Second, many BM proteins are produced not only by the cells residing on the BM but also by surrounding cell types [6-9], and it is unclear how large, possibly insoluble protein complexes [10] are delivered into the matrix. Here we exploit our ability to live image and genetically dissect de novo BM formation during Drosophila development. This reveals that there is a temporal hierarchy of BM protein production that is essential for proper component incorporation. Furthermore, we show that BM components require secretion by migrating macrophages (hemocytes) during their developmental dispersal, which is critical for embryogenesis. Indeed, hemocyte migration is essential to deliver a subset of ECM components evenly throughout the embryo. This reveals that de novo BM construction requires a combination of both production and distribution logistics allowing for the timely delivery of core components.

The prokaryotic tubulin homolog, FtsZ, forms a ring-like structure (FtsZ-ring) at midcell. The FtsZ-ring establishes the division plane and enables the assembly of the macromolecular division machinery (divisome). Although many molecular components of the divisome have been identified and their interactions extensively characterized, the spatial organization of these proteins within the divisome is unclear. Consequently, the physical mechanisms that drive divisome assembly, maintenance, and constriction remain elusive. Here we applied single-molecule based superresolution imaging, combined with genetic and biophysical investigations, to reveal the spatial organization of cellular structures formed by four important divisome proteins in E. coli: FtsZ, ZapA, ZapB and MatP. We show that these interacting proteins are arranged into a multi-layered protein network extending from the cell membrane to the chromosome, each with unique structural and dynamic properties. Further, we find that this protein network stabilizes the FtsZ-ring, and unexpectedly, slows down cell constriction, suggesting a new, unrecognized role for this network in bacterial cell division. Our results provide new insight into the structure and function of the divisome, and highlight the importance of coordinated cell constriction and chromosome segregation.