Document Detail


Thermal nociception in adult Drosophila: behavioral characterization and the role of the painless gene.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  17081265     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Nociception, warning of injury that should be avoided, serves an important protective function in animals. In this study, we show that adult Drosophila avoids noxious heat by a jump response. To quantitatively analyze this nociceptive behavior, we developed two assays. In the CO2 laser beam assay, flies exhibit this behavior when a laser beam heats their abdomens. The consistency of the jump latency in this assay meets an important criterion for a good nociceptive assay. In the hot plate assay, flies jump quickly to escape from a hot copper plate (>45 degrees C). Our results demonstrate that, as in mammals, the latency of the jump response is inversely related to stimulus intensity, and innoxious thermosensation does not elicit this nociceptive behavior. To explore the genetic mechanisms of nociception, we examined several mutants in both assays. Abnormal nociceptive behavior of a mutant, painless, indicates that painless, a gene essential for nociception in Drosophila larvae, is also required for thermal nociception in adult flies. painless is expressed in certain neurons of the peripheral nervous system and thoracic ganglia, as well as in the definite brain structures, the mushroom bodies. However, chemical or genetic insults to the mushroom bodies do not influence the nociceptive behavior, suggesting that different painless-expressing neurons play diverse roles in thermal nociception. Additionally, no-bridge(KS49), a mutant that has a structural defect in the protocerebral bridge, shows defective response to noxious heat. Thus, our results validate adult Drosophila as a useful model to study the genetic mechanisms of thermal nociception.
Authors:
S Y Xu; C L Cang; X F Liu; Y Q Peng; Y Z Ye; Z Q Zhao; A K Guo
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Comparative Study; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Validation Studies    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Genes, brain, and behavior     Volume:  5     ISSN:  1601-1848     ISO Abbreviation:  Genes Brain Behav.     Publication Date:  2006 Nov 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2006-11-03     Completed Date:  2006-12-22     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  101129617     Medline TA:  Genes Brain Behav     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  602-13     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, CAS, Graduate School of CAS, Beijing, China.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Animals
Avoidance Learning / physiology
Drosophila Proteins / genetics*,  metabolism
Drosophila melanogaster / genetics*,  metabolism
Ganglia, Invertebrate / metabolism
Ion Channels / genetics*,  metabolism
Mushroom Bodies / metabolism
Pain / genetics*
Pain Measurement / methods*
Reaction Time / genetics
Statistics, Nonparametric
Temperature Sense / genetics*
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Drosophila Proteins; 0/Ion Channels; 0/painless protein, Drosophila

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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