Thermal nociception in adult Drosophila: behavioral characterization and the role of the painless gene Export

@article{citeulike:922310, abstract = {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.}, author = {Xu and Cang and Liu and Peng and Ye and Zhao and Guo}, citeulike-article-id = {922310}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2006.00213.x}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/mksg/gbb/2006/00000005/00000008/art00005}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17081265}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=17081265}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/118618279/ABSTRACT}, doi = {10.1111/j.1601-183X.2006.00213.x}, issn = {1601-1848}, journal = {Genes, Brain \& Behavior}, keywords = {drosophila, nociception, painless}, month = {November}, number = {8}, pages = {602--613}, posted-at = {2008-08-18 08:14:43}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Blackwell Publishing}, title = {Thermal nociception in adult Drosophila: behavioral characterization and the role of the painless gene}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2006.00213.x}, volume = {5}, year = {2006} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:922310 L3 - citeulike-article-id:922310 N2 - 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. IS - 8 JF - Genes, Brain & Behavior SN - 1601-1848 EP - 613 TI - Thermal nociception in adult Drosophila: behavioral characterization and the role of the painless gene PB - Blackwell Publishing VL - 5 SP - 602 KW - drosophila KW - nociception KW - painless AU - Xu AU - Cang AU - Liu AU - Peng AU - Ye AU - Zhao AU - Guo PY - 2006/11// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-183X.2006.00213.x ER -