| Title | A switch in thermal preference in Drosophila larvae depends on multiple rhodopsins | 
| Publication Type | Journal Article | 
| Year of Publication | 2016 | 
| Authors | Sokabe T, Chen H-C, Luo J, Montell C | 
| Journal | Cell Rep | 
| Volume | 17 | 
| Pagination | 336-344 | 
| Date Published | 2016 Oct 4 | 
| ISSN | 2211-1247 | 
| Abstract | Drosophila third-instar larvae exhibit changes in their behavioral responses to gravity and food as they transition from feeding to wandering stages. Using a thermal gradient encompassing the comfortable range (18°C to 28°C), we found that third-instar larvae exhibit a dramatic shift in thermal preference. Early third-instar larvae prefer 24°C, which switches to increasingly stronger biases for 18°C-19°C in mid- and late-third-instar larvae. Mutations eliminating either of two rhodopsins, Rh5 and Rh6, wiped out these age-dependent changes in thermal preference. In larvae, Rh5 and Rh6 are thought to function exclusively in the light-sensing Bolwig organ. However, the Bolwig organ was dispensable for the thermal preference. Rather, Rh5 and Rh6 were required in trpA1-expressing neurons in the brain, ventral nerve cord, and body wall. Because Rh1 contributes to thermal selection in the comfortable range during the early to mid-third-instar stage, fine thermal discrimination depends on multiple rhodopsins.  |  
| DOI | 10.1016/j.celrep.2016.09.028 | 
| Alternate Journal | Cell Rep | 
| PubMed ID | 27705783 | 
