Connectomics Analysis Reveals First-, Second-, and Third-Order Thermosensory and Hygrosensory Neurons in the Adult Drosophila Brain.

ABSTRACT: Animals exhibit innate and learned preferences for temperature and humidity-conditions critical for their survival and reproduction. Leveraging a whole-brain electron microscopy volume, we studied the adult Drosophila melanogaster circuitry associated with antennal thermo- and hygrosensory neurons. We have identified two new target glomeruli in the antennal lobe, in addition to the five known ones, and the ventroposterior projection neurons (VP PNs) that relay thermo- and hygrosensory information to higher brain centers, including the mushroom body and lateral horn, seats of learned and innate behavior. We present the first connectome of a thermo- and hygrosensory neuropil, the lateral accessory calyx (lACA), by reconstructing neurons downstream of heating- and cooling-responsive VP PNs. A

SUBMITTER: Marin EC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7443704 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature