23 research outputs found
The Serotonin 5-HT7Dro Receptor Is Expressed in the Brain of Drosophila, and Is Essential for Normal Courtship and Mating
The 5-HT7 receptor remains one of the less well characterized
serotonin receptors. Although it has been demonstrated to be involved in the
regulation of mood, sleep, and circadian rhythms, as well as relaxation of
vascular smooth muscles in mammals, the precise mechanisms underlying these
functions remain largely unknown. The fruit fly, Drosophila
melanogaster, is an attractive model organism to study
neuropharmacological, molecular, and behavioral processes that are largely
conserved with mammals. Drosophila express a homolog of the mammalian
5-HT7 receptor, as well as homologs for the mammalian
5-HT1A, and 5-HT2, receptors. Each fly receptor
couples to the same effector pathway as their mammalian counterpart and have
been demonstrated to mediate similar behavioral responses. Here, we report on
the expression and function of the 5-HT7Dro receptor in Drosophila.
In the larval central nervous system, expression is detected postsynaptically in
discreet cells and neuronal circuits. In the adult brain there is strong
expression in all large-field R neurons that innervate the ellipsoid body, as
well as in a small group of cells that cluster with the PDF-positive LNvs
neurons that mediate circadian activity. Following both pharmacological and
genetic approaches, we have found that 5-HT7Dro activity is essential
for normal courtship and mating behaviors in the fly, where it appears to
mediate levels of interest in both males and females. This is the first reported
evidence of direct involvement of a particular serotonin receptor subtype in
courtship and mating in the fly