Feeling Hot and Cold: Thermal Sensation in Drosophila

Sensing environmental temperature is crucial for animal life. The model animal, Drosophila melanogaster, can be investigated with a large number of genetic tools, which have greatly facilitated studies of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of thermal sensing. At the molecular level, a group of proteins, including Transient Receptor Potential channels and ionotropic receptors, have been characterized as potential thermal sensors in both larval and adult Drosophila. At the cellular and circuit levels, peripheral and central thermosensory neurons have been identified. More interestingly, thermal information has been found to be specifically encoded by specific central neurons. In this short review, we mainly survey the progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of thermosensation and the neuronal mechanisms of thermal information processing in the brain of Drosophila. Other recent temperature-related findings such as its impact on neurosecretion and thermotactic behavior in Drosophila are also introduced.