Piezo-like Gene Regulates Locomotion in Drosophila Larvae

Summary: To maintain proper locomotive patterns, animals constantly monitor body posture with their proprioceptive receptors. In Drosophila, the chordotonal organs (Cho) are especially important in the regulation of locomotion pattern. However, how Cho neurons that are normally activated with sound (vibration) transduce static displacement caused by body position change remains unclear. Here, we report that piezo-like (pzl), a homolog for mammalian piezo1 and 2, is essential for Cho’s function in locomotion. The mutant allele of pzl showed severe defects in crawling pattern and body gesture control, which were rescued by expressing Pzl specifically in Cho neurons. The ability of Cho neurons to respond to micrometer-scale body wall displacement requires pzl. Intriguingly, human or mouse Piezo1 can rescue pzl-mutant phenotypes, suggesting a conserved role of the Piezo-family proteins in locomotion. : Proprioception is critical for animals to maintain body postures and locomotive patterns. Hu et al. find that Drosophila piezo-like (pzl), a putative mechanosensitive channel gene and a homolog for mammalian piezo1 and 2, functions in the stretch-sensing proprioceptive chordotonal neurons to regulate Drosophila larval locomotion. Keywords: mechanotransduction, piezo family, proprioception, chordotonal neurons, locomotion, Drosophila