Abstract
The ability to integrate experiential information and recall it in the form of memory is observed in a wide range of taxa, and is a hallmark of highly derived nervous systems. Storage of past experiences is critical for adaptive behaviors that anticipate both adverse and positive environmental factors. The process of memory formation and consolidation involve many synchronized biological events including gene transcription, protein modification, and intracellular trafficking: However, many of these molecular mechanisms remain illusive. With Drosophila as a model system we use a nonassociative memory paradigm and a systems level approach to uncover novel transcriptional patterns. RNA sequencing of Drosophila heads during and after memory formation identified a number of novel memory genes. Tracking the dynamic expression of these genes over time revealed complex gene networks involved in long term memory. In particular, this study focuses on two functional gene clusters of signal peptides and proteases. Bioinformatics network analysis and prediction in combination with high-throughput RNA sequencing identified previously unknown memory genes, which when genetically knocked down resulted in behaviorally validated memory defects.
Highlights
The ability to form a memory is one of the hallmarks of the advanced nervous system
In a novel learning and memory paradigm, we examined transcriptional changes in the fly brain during and after memory formation
When wasps are removed from the environment, female flies continue to favor ethanol-containing food as an oviposition substrate, a behavior that persists through the process of long-term memory formation
Summary
The ability to form a memory is one of the hallmarks of the advanced nervous system This capacity to learn from, and remember, past experiences is a critical attribute to many eukaryotes. It is this function that allows organisms to meet the various demands and challenges of a changing and stochastic world: The interruption of these processes is associated with devastating illnesses, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Huntington’s Disease, amongst others. It has been suggested that disruption in memory retrieval may be a pathology distinct from other memory impairments [7] This notion is further supported by the identification of discrete waves of transcriptional activity and protein synthesis associating spatially and temporally with the various learning and memory processes [8,9]
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