EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
Avinash Khandelwal
EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology & Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, United States
Nico D Fessner
EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States
Marta Zlatic
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States; Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States; Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
EMBL-CRG Systems Biology Research Unit, Centre for Genomic Regulation, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology & Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, United States; Department of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, California, United States
Sensory navigation results from coordinated transitions between distinct behavioral programs. During chemotaxis in the Drosophila melanogaster larva, the detection of positive odor gradients extends runs while negative gradients promote stops and turns. This algorithm represents a foundation for the control of sensory navigation across phyla. In the present work, we identified an olfactory descending neuron, PDM-DN, which plays a pivotal role in the organization of stops and turns in response to the detection of graded changes in odor concentrations. Artificial activation of this descending neuron induces deterministic stops followed by the initiation of turning maneuvers through head casts. Using electron microscopy, we reconstructed the main pathway that connects the PDM-DN neuron to the peripheral olfactory system and to the pre-motor circuit responsible for the actuation of forward peristalsis. Our results set the stage for a detailed mechanistic analysis of the sensorimotor conversion of graded olfactory inputs into action selection to perform goal-oriented navigation.
