Differential microarray analysis of Drosophila mushroom body transcripts using chemical ablation

doi:10.1073/pnas.0606571103

Differential microarray analysis of Drosophila mushroom body transcripts using chemical ablation

*Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences and Tsukuba Advanced Research Alliance, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan;
^†Department of Cell Biology, Biozentrum, University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland;
^‡Genetic Strains Research Center, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima 411-8540, Japan; and
^§Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan

Contributed by Walter J. Gehring, August 1, 2006

Abstract

Mushroom bodies (MBs) are the centers for olfactory associative learning and elementary cognitive functions in the Drosophila brain. As a way to systematically elucidate genes preferentially expressed in MBs, we have analyzed genome-wide alterations in transcript profiles associated with MB ablation by hydroxyurea. We selected 100 genes based on microarray data and examined their expression patterns in the brain by in situ hybridization. Seventy genes were found to be expressed in the posterodorsal cortex, which harbors the MB cell bodies. These genes encode proteins of diverse functions, including transcription, signaling, cell adhesion, channels, and transporters. Moreover, we have examined developmental functions of 40 of the microarray-identified genes by transgenic RNA interference; 8 genes were found to cause mild-to-strong MB defects when suppressed with a MB-Gal4 driver. These results provide important information not only on the repertoire of genes that control MB development but also on the repertoire of neural factors that may have important physiological functions in MB plasticity.

Footnotes

^¶To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: tokunaga{at}sakura.cc.tsukuba.ac.jp or walter.gehring{at}unibas.ch
Author contributions: K.F.-T. designed research; M.K., L.M., A.I., K.H., T.N., Y.M., H.M., M.A., I.G., and K.F.-T. performed research; L.M., K.T., K.S., R.U., and W.J.G. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; M.K., L.M., A.I., K.H., T.N., Y.M., H.M., M.A., I.G., W.J.G., and K.F.-T. analyzed data; and M.K., L.M., W.J.G., and K.F.-T. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Data deposition: The data reported in this paper have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo (accession no. GSE3379).
Abbreviations:

AL,

antennal lobe;

HU,

hydroxyurea;

MB,

mushroom body;

OL,

optic lobe.