Regulation of coordinated muscular relaxation in Drosophila larvae by a pattern-regulating intersegmental circuit
Abstract
Typical patterned movements in animals are achieved through combinations of contraction and delayed relaxation of groups of muscles. However, how intersegmentally coordinated patterns of muscular relaxation are regulated by the neural circuits remains poorly understood. Here, we identify Canon, a class of higher-order premotor interneurons, that regulates muscular relaxation during backward locomotion of Drosophila larvae. Canon neurons are cholinergic interneurons present in each abdominal neuromere and show wave-like activity during fictive backward locomotion. Optogenetic activation of Canon neurons induces relaxation of body wall muscles, whereas inhibition of these neurons disrupts timely muscle relaxation. Canon neurons provide excitatory outputs to inhibitory premotor interneurons. Canon neurons also connect with each other to form an intersegmental circuit and regulate their own wave-like activities. Thus, our results demonstrate how coordinated muscle relaxation can be realized by an intersegmental circuit that regulates its own patterned activity and sequentially terminates motor activities along the anterior-posterior axis.
Citation
Hiramoto , A , Jonaitis , J , Niki , S , Kohsaka , H , Fetter , R D , Cardona , A , Pulver , S R & Nose , A 2021 , ' Regulation of coordinated muscular relaxation in Drosophila larvae by a pattern-regulating intersegmental circuit ' , Nature Communications , vol. 12 , 2943 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23273-y
Publication
Nature Communications
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2041-1723Type
Journal article
Description
This work was supported by HHMI Janelia Visitor program (A.H. and S.R.P. hosted by A.C.), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (R.D.F. and A.C.), Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Funds (105621/Z/14/Z) (S.R.P.), a Royal Society Research Grant (RG150108) (S.R.P.), and MEXT/JSPS KAKENHI grants (20K06908 and 17K07042 to H.K., 15H04255, 17H05554, 18H05113, 19H04742, and 20H05048 to A.N.).Collections
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