Inhibiting the Mitochondrial Calcium Uniporter during Development Impairs Memory in Adult Drosophila

The uptake of cytoplasmic calcium into mitochondria is critical for a variety of physiological processes, including calcium buffering, metabolism, and cell survival. Here, we demonstrate that inhibiting the mitochondrial calcium uniporter in the Drosophila mushroom body neurons (MBn)—a brain region...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ilaria Drago, Ronald L. Davis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-09-01
Series:Cell Reports
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211124716310634
Description
Summary:The uptake of cytoplasmic calcium into mitochondria is critical for a variety of physiological processes, including calcium buffering, metabolism, and cell survival. Here, we demonstrate that inhibiting the mitochondrial calcium uniporter in the Drosophila mushroom body neurons (MBn)—a brain region critical for olfactory memory formation—causes memory impairment without altering the capacity to learn. Inhibiting uniporter activity only during pupation impaired adult memory, whereas the same inhibition during adulthood was without effect. The behavioral impairment was associated with structural defects in MBn, including a decrease in synaptic vesicles and an increased length in the axons of the αβ MBn. Our results reveal an in vivo developmental role for the mitochondrial uniporter complex in establishing the necessary structural and functional neuronal substrates for normal memory formation in the adult organism.
ISSN:2211-1247