roles of the drosophila sk channel (dsk) in courtship memory角色的果蝇sk通道(dsk)在求爱的记忆里.pdfVIP

Roles of the Drosophila SK Channel (dSK) in Courtship Memory 1 2 1 Ahmad N. Abou Tayoun , Claudio Pikielny , Patrick J. Dolph * 1 Department of Biology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America, 2 Department of Genetics, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States of America Abstract A role for SK channels in synaptic plasticity has been very well-characterized. However, in the absence of simple genetic animal models, their role in behavioral memory remains elusive. Here, we take advantage of Drosophila melanogaster with its single SK gene (dSK) and well-established courtship memory assay to investigate the contribution of this channel to memory. Using two independent dSK alleles, a null mutation and a dominant negative subunit, we show that while dSK negatively regulates the acquisition of short-term memory 30 min after a short training session, it is required for normal long-term memory 24 h after extended training. These findings highlight important functions for dSK in courtship memory and suggest that SK channels can mediate multiple forms of behavioral plasticity. Citation: Abou Tayoun AN, Pikielny C, Dolph PJ (2012) Roles of the Drosophila SK Channel (dSK) in Courtship Memory. PLoS ONE 7(4): e34665. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0034665 Editor: Troy Zars, University of Missouri, United States of America Received September 28, 2011; Accepted March 6, 2012; Published April 11, 2012 Copyright: 2012 Abou Tayoun et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This work was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute