A Functional Characterisation of Drosophila Chordotonal Organs

by Robert Jago Wiek
Doctoral thesis
Date of Examination:2013-06-21
Date of issue:2013-06-27
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Martin Göpfert
Referee:Prof. Dr. Martin Göpfert
Referee:Prof. Dr. André Fiala
Referee:Prof.Dr. Ansgar Büschges
Persistent Address: http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-3910

 

 

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Description:Dissertation for the award of the degree "Doctor rerum naturalium" of the Georg-August-Univerität Göttingen

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Abstract

English

Functional properties of the Drosophila FCO (femoral chordotonal organ) can be dissected by use of the Gal4-UAS system in combination with transcuticular in vivo Calcium imaging. As sinusoidal stimulation at relative small stimulus amplitudes elicited changes in intracellular ionic calcium (Ca2+) concentration in the FCO, the effect of substrate vibration on Drosophila walking behaviour was proposed. But lately developed fly tracking software for high-throughput ethomics (Branson et al., 2009) showed that substrate vibrations have no specific effect on Drosophila walking behaviour. Instead present evidence suggests that Drosophila compensates for substrate vibration by detection via the FCO and therefore is able to control its body posture. A modification of transcuticular in vivo Calcium imaging was used to locate the neuronal activity region of Inactive, a protein involved in Drosophila hearing and a mechanotransduction channel candidate. Here I show that Inactive mutants still respond to sound like stimulation with ciliary calcium currents.
Keywords: FCO; JO; TRP; TRPV; inactive; substrate vibrations; mechanotransduction; auditory transduction of sound; Calcium imaging; Cameleon 2.1
 
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