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Modulators of Auditory Responses in Drosophila: From the Ear to Behaviour via the Clock?

Kashkenbayeva, Assel; (2020) Modulators of Auditory Responses in Drosophila: From the Ear to Behaviour via the Clock? Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

Mechanoelectrical transduction (MET) is the crucial process underlying hearing. Drosophila melanogaster perform elaborate courtship rituals in which the male engages in the production of auditory courtship signals by vibrating his wings (Spieth, 1974). Playback of these sounds results in observable changes in locomotor activity in both male and female flies (von Schilcher, 1976; Yoon, Matsuo, Yamada, Mizuno, & Morimoto, 2013). Overall, Drosophila demonstrate robust activity patterns (Tataroglu & Emery, 2014). This behavioural rhythmicity is regulated by the circadian clock (Helfrich-Förster, 2001). To probe whether auditory-induced locomotor behaviour is also under clock control, here I present a novel behavioural assay to study the intersection between these two systems. I begin by quantifying this method and subsequently uncover several factors which regulate auditory-induced locomotor activity. Light exposure and the ‘naturalness’ of the stimulus were identified as key modulators. Additionally, I find that the behavioural response to sound stimuli does indeed does show periodic changes over a 24-h cycle. These oscillations showed a unique rhythm in comparison to the periodicity of non-sound-induced locomotor activity and were abolished in clock- disrupted conditions; suggesting that auditory-induced locomotor activity is also regulated by the circadian clock. Functional imaging using GCaMP reporters was performed in different subsets of Johnston’s Organ (JO) neurons to probe whether the key regulators of sound- induced behaviour directly modulate the function of the auditory neurons. Calcium responses to sound stimuli were found to be modulated by both the naturalness of stimuli and the environmental light conditions.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: Modulators of Auditory Responses in Drosophila: From the Ear to Behaviour via the Clock?
Event: UCL (University College London)
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright © The Author 2020. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10091081
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