Project description:Increasing evidence suggests microRNAs (miRNAs) control levels of mRNA expression during development of the nervous system and during sensory elicited remodelling of the brain. We used an associative olfactory learning paradigm (proboscis extension response) in the honeybee Apis mellifera to detect gene expression changes in the brain. Transcriptome analysis of bees trained to associate an odor with a reward and control bees exposed to air without reward, helped us abstract mRNA-miRNA interactions for empirical testing. Functional studies, feeding cholesterol-conjugated antisense RNA to bees resulted in the inhibition of miR-210 and of miR-932 that is embedded within the neuroligin 2 (Nlg2) gene involved in synapse development. Loss of miR-932 prevents long-term memory formation but not learning. We validated 3M-bM-^@M-^YUTR target site interactions of miR-932 and show miR-932 dysregulates actin, a key cytoskeletal molecule involved in neuronal development and activity-dependent plasticity of the brain. The analysis used Air group (no odor learning) as control sample for comparison to two groups of odor-conditioned bees: linalool and floral mix.
Project description:Honeybee brain has distHoneybee brain has distinct anatomical and functional regions, knowledge on molecular underpinnings of sub-organ to achieve the distinct neural function and the difference between the eastern and western honeybees are still missing. Here, the proteomes of three sub-organs of eastern and western honeybee brains were compared. Mushroom bodies (MBs) and optical lobes (OLs) may by employed similar proteome architectures to drive their domain-specific neural activity in both bee species. In MBs, protein metabolism and Ca2+ transmembrane transport are the key role players in driving the learning and memory by modulating the synaptic structure and signal transduction to consolidate memory trace. In OLs, ribonucleoside metabolism and energy production play major roles to underpin visual system by maintaining G-protein cycle and membrane electrical charge potential. However, in antennal lobes (ALs), it has evolved distinct proteome settings to prime the olfactory learning and memory in two bee species. In ALs of Apis cerana cerana (Acc), actin cytoskeleton organization is key for plasticity of glomeruli and intracellular transport to sustain the olfactory signaling. Whereas, in ALs of Apis mellifera ligustica (Aml), hydrogen and hydrogen ion transport are vital to support olfactory process by supplying energy and maintaining molecule transport. Noticeably, in ALs of Acc, the exclusively enriched functional groups acting as second messenger and neurontransmitter of signal transduction, and the enhanced protein metabolism to regulate the plasticity of synaptic structure for formation of memory, suggest that Acc may have evolved a better sense of smell than that of Aml. Our first proteome data is helpful as starting point for further analysis of neural activity in brain sub-area of honeybee and other insects.inct anatomical and functional regions, knowledge on molecular underpinnings of sub-organ to achieve the distinct neural function and the difference between the eastern and western honeybees are still missing. Here, the proteomes of three sub-organs of eastern and western honeybee brains were compared. Mushroom bodies (MBs) and optical lobes (OLs) may by employed similar proteome architectures to drive their domain-specific neural activity in both bee species. In MBs, protein metabolism and Ca2+ transmembrane transport are the key role players in driving the learning and memory by modulating the synaptic structure and signal transduction to consolidate memory trace. In OLs, ribonucleoside metabolism and energy production play major roles to underpin visual system by maintaining G-protein cycle and membrane electrical charge potential. However, in antennal lobes (ALs), it has evolved distinct proteome settings to prime the olfactory learning and memory in two bee species. In ALs of Apis cerana cerana (Acc), actin cytoskeleton organization is key for plasticity of glomeruli and intracellular transport to sustain the olfactory signaling. Whereas, in ALs of Apis mellifera ligustica (Aml), hydrogen and hydrogen ion transport are vital to support olfactory process by supplying energy and maintaining molecule transport. Noticeably, in ALs of Acc, the exclusively enriched functional groups acting as second messenger and neurontransmitter of signal transduction, and the enhanced protein metabolism to regulate the plasticity of synaptic structure for formation of memory, suggest that Acc may have evolved a better sense of smell than that of Aml. Our first proteome data is helpful as starting point for further analysis of neural activity in brain sub-area of honeybee and other insects.
Project description:Increasing evidence suggests microRNAs (miRNAs) control levels of mRNA expression during development of the nervous system and during sensory elicited remodelling of the brain. We used an associative olfactory learning paradigm (proboscis extension response) in the honeybee Apis mellifera to detect gene expression changes in the brain. Transcriptome analysis of bees trained to associate an odor with a reward and control bees exposed to air without reward, helped us abstract mRNA-miRNA interactions for empirical testing. Functional studies, feeding cholesterol-conjugated antisense RNA to bees resulted in the inhibition of miR-210 and of miR-932 that is embedded within the neuroligin 2 (Nlg2) gene involved in synapse development. Loss of miR-932 prevents long-term memory formation but not learning. We validated 3’UTR target site interactions of miR-932 and show miR-932 dysregulates actin, a key cytoskeletal molecule involved in neuronal development and activity-dependent plasticity of the brain.
Project description:Specific genes or encoded proteins are involved in regulating various learning models of different species through certain signaling pathways,but whether there are also regulatory genes during bimodal learning and memory is largely unknown. Using a multi-omics approach to examine gene expression changes in bees brain performed with three different learning assays, a general up-regulation of genes and proteins were observed in bimodal learning compared to controls. Protein-protein network predictions of differential proteins together with FISH assays suggest ALDH7A1 may be involved in regulation of bimodal learning and memory. Injecting siRNA-ALDH7A1 to the bee brain results in significant inhibition the expressions of ALDH7A1 and regucalcin, and increase β-alanine content. Interestingly, we found that loss of ALDH7A1 only affect visual-olfactory bimodal learning and memory, but not single visual or olfactory conditioned learning after ALDH7A1-RNAi in bees. Therefore, our data suggests that ALDH7A1 may affect bimodal learning and memory though controlling β-alanine related plasticity mechanisms.
Project description:Elimination of peripheral retinal axons leads to changes in gene expression in both visual and somatosensory thalamic neurons. We used microarrays to determine the global programme of gene expression underlying peripheral input deprivation and identify candidate thalamic genes involved in cross-modal plasticity.
Project description:Here we show that regions of the honeybee brain involved in visual processing and learning and memory show a genomic response to distance information. Using a method that separates effects of perceived distance from effects of actual distance flown, we found that individuals forced to shift from a short to a perceived long distance to reach a feeding site showed differences in gene expression in the optic lobes and mushroom bodies relative to individuals that continued to perceive flying a short distance.
Project description:Mushroom bodies (MBs) are the centers for olfactory associative learning and elementary cognitive functions in the Drosophila brain. To get insights of the repertoire of MB genes that control initiation and maintenance of neural differentiation as well as the repertoire of neural factors that may have functions in the synaptic plasticity of MB neurons during learning and memory, we compared the transcript profiles between wild type and MB-ablated brains using a Drosophila whole-genome microarray. Newly hatched larvae were briefly administered with a DNA-synthesis inhibitor, hydroxyurea, and raised to adults, from which total brain RNA was analyzed. Experiment Overall Design: Two conditions analyzed: Control Brains and Musroom Body-ablated brains. Experiment Overall Design: Each condition was analyzed in triplicate.
Project description:The stable formation of remote fear memories is thought to require neuronal gene induction in cortical ensembles that are activated during learning. However, the set of genes expressed specifically in these activated ensembles is not known; knowledge of such transcriptional profiles may offer insights into the molecular program underlying stable memory formation. Here we use RNA-Seq to identify genes whose expression is enriched in activated cortical ensembles labeled during associative fear learning. We first establish that mouse temporal association cortex (TeA) is required for remote recall of auditory fear memories. We then perform RNA-Seq in TeA neurons that are labeled by the activity reporter Arc-dVenus during learning. We identify 944 genes with enriched expression in Arc-dVenus+ neurons. These genes include markers of L2/3, L5b, and L6 excitatory neurons but not glial or inhibitory markers, confirming Arc-dVenus to be an excitatory neuron-specific, layer non-specific activity reporter. Cross comparisons to other transcriptional profiles show that 125 of the enriched genes are also activity-regulated in vitro or induced by visual stimulus in the visual cortex, suggesting that they may be induced generally in the cortex in an experience-dependent fashion. Prominent among the enriched genes are those encoding potassium channels that down-regulate neuronal activity, suggesting the possibility that part of the molecular program induced by fear conditioning may initiate homeostatic plasticity.
Project description:Mushroom bodies (MBs) are the centers for olfactory associative learning and elementary cognitive functions in the Drosophila brain. To get insights of the repertoire of MB genes that control initiation and maintenance of neural differentiation as well as the repertoire of neural factors that may have functions in the synaptic plasticity of MB neurons during learning and memory, we compared the transcript profiles between wild type and MB-ablated brains using a Drosophila whole-genome microarray. Newly hatched larvae were briefly administered with a DNA-synthesis inhibitor, hydroxyurea, and raised to adults, from which total brain RNA was analyzed. Keywords: Chemical Ablation of Mushroom bodies from Drosophila brain
Project description:O-GlcNAcylation is a dynamic post-translational modification that diversifies the proteome with spatiotemporal precision in response to various stimuli. Its dysregulation is associated with many neurological disorders that impair cognitive function, and yet identification of phenotype-relevant protein substrates in specific brain regions remains unfeasible. By combining O-GlcNAc binding activity of Clostridium perfringens OGA (CpOGA) with TurboID proximity labeling, we developed an O-GlcNAcylation profiling tool that translates O-GlcNAc modification into biotin conjugation for tissue-specific substrates enrichment. We mapped the O-GlcNAcylated proteome in different brain regions of Drosophila and revealed that components in translational machinery including many ribosomal subunits are heavily O-GlcNAcylated in mushroom body (MB), the major brain region for associative learning. Hypo-O-GlcNAcylation induced by ectopic expression of CpOGA in MB reduces ribosomal activity, leading to olfactory learning deficit. Our study provides a useful resource for dissecting tissue-specific functions of O-GlcNAcylation in Drosophila and suggests that new protein synthesis is important for cognitive function.