Flies ambient temperature measured how?

Flies, unlike humans, cannot regulate the ambient temperature so they need to choose the most suitable breeding ground. Brandeis University's new study, published in this week's issue of the journal Nature, reveals that flies have internal body temperature sensors to help them do this.

Biologist Paul Garrity and colleagues discovered that fruit flies Drosophila has four major neurons that respond to temperature located in the brain. They are activated at a temperature slightly higher than the fruit fly's preferred temperature by a type of ion tube in the cell membrane called dTrpA1 that acts as a sensor molecule to temperature.

This way of feeling the internal temperature helps them avoid a slight increase in temperature. Along with the 'cold path' in the beard to limit the preferred temperature of flies, flies have the ability to choose the optimal temperature range to survive.

Garrity explains: 'We were surprised to discover that flies use sensors in the brain to measure environmental temperatures . Large animals use peripheral neurons to determine the surrounding temperature. This ability in small animals like fruit flies is quite similar. '

He and his colleagues Fumika Hamada, Mark Rosenzweig, Kyeongjin Kang, Stefan Pulver, Alfredo Ghezzi, and Tim Jegla have applied several different methods in the hope of finding peripheral temperature sensors. But the data finally showed that the sensor was not in the periphery, but was hidden inside the heads of the flies.

(Photo: flickr.com)

Garrity said: 'We still don't know the details yet, but our data show that dTRPA1 has the same function as a fire alarm. When the temperature inside the fly's head rises too high, dTRPA1 activates the internal sensors to help the fly fly to more pleasant places. '

Although the environmental temperature affects the actions of all animals as well as humans, we only know very little about the mechanism by which nerve pathways make animals choose an environment. suitable temperature. This study helps scientists take a step closer to understanding how neurons help the flies find the right temperature range to ensure their survival. In contrast, neurological pathways are also potential targets to prevent temperature priorities and other temperature sensing behaviors in insects that are harmful to crops or intermediate species that spread diseases. like mosquitoes that transmit malaria and dengue can rely on temperature to locate prey.

When global warming causes hundreds of species, including insects, fish, birds and mammals, to search for environments with more appropriate temperatures, understanding the molecular and head clues The inner nerve that controls the actions of animals will highlight the strategies that animals use to cope with changes in their environment. In addition, reactive control molecules in animals, such as dTRPA1, are evolutionarily conserved proteins that are important for pain and inflammation in humans. The in-depth knowledge of how these proteins work is significant in creating new methods or drugs to treat pain and inflammation.