Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 8, 2025
Appetitive Associative Olfactory Learning in Drosophila Larvae
Published on: February 18, 2013
Loss of Bicra impairs Drosophila learning and choice abilities
Ying Sun1, Zhuojie Li1, Wenzhe Li1
1Institute of Intervention Vessel, Shanghai 10th People's Hospital, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, School of Life Science and Technology, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Abstract:
The Drosophila Bicra (CG11873) gene encodes the sole ortholog of mammalian GLTSCR1 and GLTSCR1L, which are components of a chromatin remodeling complex involved in neoplasia and metastasis of cancer cells. Bicra is highly expressed in Drosophila larval CNS and adult brain, yet its physiological functions in the nervous system remain elusive. Here we report that Bicra is expressed in both neurons and glia of adult brains, and is required for courtship learning and choice ability of male flies. The function of Bicra in the mushroom body, and in particular, Bicra expression in neurons but not glia, is responsible for the male courtship learning and choice performance. This study unravels a novel function of Bicra in cognition-related courtship behaviors in Drosophila, and may provide insight into the neuronal functions of its mammalian orthologs.
