Pharyngeal mechanosensory neurons control food swallow in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>.

ABSTRACT: As the early step of food ingestion, the swallow is under rigorous sensorimotor control. Nevertheless, the mechanisms underlying swallow control at a molecular and circuitry level remain largely unknown. Here, we find that mutation of the mechanotransduction channel genes nompC, Tmc, or piezo impairs the regular pumping rhythm of the cibarium during feeding of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. A group of multi-dendritic mechanosensory neurons, which co-express the three channels, wrap the cibarium and are crucial for coordinating the filling and emptying of the cibarium. Inhibition of them causes difficulty in food emptying in the cibarium, while their activation leads to difficulty in cibarium filling. Synaptic and functional connections are detected betwe

SUBMITTER: Qin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11616994 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature