RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Timing of locomotor recovery modulated by the <em>white</em> gene in <em>Drosophila</em>
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 032490
DO 10.1101/032490
A1 Chengfeng Xiao
A1 R Meldrum Robertson
YR 2015
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/11/21/032490.abstract
AB Locomotor recovery from anoxia follows the restoration of disordered ion distributions and neuronal excitability. The time taken for locomotor recovery after 30 s anoxia (around 10 min) is longer than the time for the propagation of action potentials to be restored (less than 1 min) in Drosophila wild-type. We report here that the white (w) gene modulates the timing of locomotor recovery. Wild-type flies displayed fast and consistent recovery of locomotion from anoxia, whereas mutants of w showed significantly delayed recovery. Genetic analysis including serial backcrossing revealed a strong association between the w locus and the timing of locomotor recovery, and haplo-insufficient function of w+ in promoting fast locomotor recovery. The locomotor recovery phenotype was independent of classic eye pigmentation, although both are associated with the w gene. Introducing up to four copies of mini-white (mw+) into w1118 was insufficient to promote fast and consistent locomotor recovery. However, flies carrying w+ duplicated to Y chromosome showed wild-type-like fast locomotor recovery. Furthermore, RNAi knockdown of w in neurons but not glia delayed locomotor recovery, and specifically, knockdown of w in putative subsets of serotonin neurons was sufficient to delay the locomotor recovery. These data reveal an additional role for w in modulating the timing of locomotor recovery from anoxia.