TY - JOUR
T1 - Hybrid neurons in a microRNA mutant are putative evolutionary intermediates in insect CO2 sensory systems
AU - Cayirlioglu, Pelin
AU - Kadow, Ilona Grunwald
AU - Zhan, Xiaoli
AU - Okamura, Katsutomo
AU - Suh, Greg S.B.
AU - Gunning, Dorian
AU - Lai, Eric C.
AU - Zipursky, S. Lawrence
PY - 2008/2/29
Y1 - 2008/2/29
N2 - Carbon dioxide (CO2) elicits different olfactory behaviors across species. In Drosophila, neurons that detect CO2 are located in the antenna, form connections in a ventral glomerulus in the antennal lobe, and mediate avoidance. By contrast, in the mosquito these neurons are in the maxillary palps (MPs), connect to medial sites, and promote attraction. We found in Drosophila that loss of a microRNA, miR-279, leads to formation of CO 2 neurons in the MPs. miR-279 acts through down-regulation of the transcription factor Nerfin-1. The ectopic neurons are hybrid cells. They express CO2 receptors and form connections characteristic of CO 2 neurons, while exhibiting wiring and receptor characteristics of MP olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). We propose that this hybrid ORN reveals a cellular intermediate in the evolution of species-specific behaviors elicited by CO2.
AB - Carbon dioxide (CO2) elicits different olfactory behaviors across species. In Drosophila, neurons that detect CO2 are located in the antenna, form connections in a ventral glomerulus in the antennal lobe, and mediate avoidance. By contrast, in the mosquito these neurons are in the maxillary palps (MPs), connect to medial sites, and promote attraction. We found in Drosophila that loss of a microRNA, miR-279, leads to formation of CO 2 neurons in the MPs. miR-279 acts through down-regulation of the transcription factor Nerfin-1. The ectopic neurons are hybrid cells. They express CO2 receptors and form connections characteristic of CO 2 neurons, while exhibiting wiring and receptor characteristics of MP olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). We propose that this hybrid ORN reveals a cellular intermediate in the evolution of species-specific behaviors elicited by CO2.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=40049098982&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1149483
DO - 10.1126/science.1149483
M3 - Article
C2 - 18309086
AN - SCOPUS:40049098982
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 319
SP - 1256
EP - 1260
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 5867
ER -