A genome-wide approach to the molecular bases of punishment vs. relief learning in the fruit fly

• Applicant: Dr. Ayse Yarali
• Subject Area: Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: from 2011 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 207751426

Fruit flies form two opposing kinds of memory from a traumatic experience: An odour that precedes electric shock is later on avoided as a signal for ‘punishment’; an odour that follows shock is subsequently approached as a signal for ‘relief’. Using a genome-wide systems-genetics approach, I will comparatively study the molecular mechanisms of these opposing kinds of learning. I will analyze 40 inbred fly strains in terms of both punishment and relief learning and then combine these data with the available genome-wide transcriptomic data in search of transcripts that are associated with each kind of learning. Using statistical methods, I will reveal among the learning-associated transcripts, modules of co-regulated transcripts and then within these modules predict the regulatory links. Based on the resulting transcript networks, I will propose candidate genes and mechanisms for each kind of learning and scrutinize their roles using genetic and pharmacological tools. These analyses will give a head start to understand the molecular mechanisms of fruit fly punishment and relief learning; furthermore, given the evolutionary conservation, they may also aid understanding traumatic memories in humans, which likely have bearings on psychiatric conditions.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants