Temperature integration at the AC thermosensory neurons in Drosophila

Temperature sensation has a strong impact on animal behavior and is necessary for animals to avoid exposure to harmful temperatures. It is now well known that thermoTRP (transient receptor potential) channels in thermosensory neurons detect a variable range of temperature stimuli. However, little is known about how a range of temperature information is relayed and integrated in the neural circuits. Here, we show novel temperature integration between two warm inputs via Drosophila TRPA channels, TRPA1 and Pyrexia (Pyx). The internal AC (anterior cell) thermosensory neurons, which express TRPA1, detect warm temperatures and mediate temperature preference behavior. We found that the AC neurons were activated twice when subjected to increasing temperatures. The first response was at ∼25°C via TRPA1 channel, which is expressed in the AC neurons. The second response was at ∼27°C via the second antennal segments, indicating that the second antennal segments are involved in the detection of warm temperatures. Further analysis reveals that pyx-Gal4-expressing neurons have synapses on the AC neurons and that mutation of pyx eliminates the second response of the AC neurons. These data suggest that AC neurons integrate both their own TRPA1-dependent temperature responses and a Pyx-dependent temperature response from the second antennal segments. Our data reveal the first identification of temperature integration, which combines warm temperature information from peripheral to central neurons and provides the possibility that temperature integration is involved in the plasticity of behavioral outputs.