McNabb, S.L., Baker, J.D., Agapite, J., Steller, H., Riddiford, L.M., Truman, J.W. (1997). Disruption of a behavioral sequence by targeted death of peptidergic neurons in Drosophila.  Neuron 19(4): 813--823.

FBrf0098847

Research paper

The neuropeptide eclosion hormone (EH) is a key regulator of insect ecdysis. We tested the role of the two EH-producing neurons in Drosophila by using an EH cell-specific enhancer to activate cell death genes reaper and head involution defective to ablate the EH cells. In the EH cell knockout flies, larval and adult ecdyses were disrupted, yet a third of the knockouts emerged as adults, demonstrating that EH has a significant but nonessential role in ecdysis. The EH cell knockouts had discrete behavioral deficits, including slow, uncoordinated eclosion and an insensitivity to ecdysis-triggering hormone. The knockouts lacked the lights-on eclosion response despite having a normal circadian eclosion rhythm. This study represents a novel approach to the dissection of neuropeptide regulation of a complex behavioral program.