| T2 |
1029-2590 |
ABSTRACT |
denotes |
Synaptic plasticity has been studied to reveal the molecular and cellular mechanisms of associative and non-associative learning. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster can be used to identify the molecular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity because vast genetic information or tools are available. Here, by ex vivo Ca2+ imaging of an isolated cultured Drosophila brain, we examined the novel activity-dependent synaptic depression between the projection neurons of the antennal lobe (AL) and mushroom body (MB). Ex vivo Ca2+ imaging analysis revealed that electrical stimulation of AL elicits Ca2+ responses in the dendritic (calyx) and axonal (α lobe) regions of MB neurons, and the responses are reduced after repetitive AL stimulation. Since the cAMP signalling pathway plays an important role in synaptic plasticity in invertebrates and vertebrates, we examined whether the reduction of Ca2+ responses is also regulated by the cAMP signalling pathway. The expression of rutabaga (rut), which encodes Ca2+ /calmodulin-dependent adenylyl cyclase, was essential for the reduction of Ca2+ responses in the calyx and α lobe. Furthermore, imaging analysis using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based cAMP indicator revealed that the cAMP level increased in the wild-type calyx during repetitive AL stimulation, whereas it decreased in rut1 mutant flies with a loss-of-function mutation of rut. Thus, our study suggests that an increase in postsynaptic cAMP level during repetitive AL stimulation contributes to the attenuation of inputs at AL-MB synapses. |
