美国西北大学Marco Gallio课题组揭示了果蝇属蝇类温度偏好的进化。2025年3月5日，国际知名学术期刊《自然》发表了这一成果。

然而，在新环境的殖民过程中，研究组对温度偏好行为的演变知之甚少。

在这里，该课题组研究人员表明至少有两种不同的神经生物学机制驱动果蝇属的温度偏好的进化。来自温和气候的蝇类(D.melanogaster 和 D.persimilis）同时避免无热和无热，课题组发现分子热受体Gr28b.d的热激活阈值与特定物种的行为热回避阈值精确匹配。研究小组找到了生活在沙漠中的D.mojavensis反而会受到无害热量的吸引。值得注意的是，热吸引也由Gr28b.d介导（以及表达它的触角神经元），并匹配它的热激活阈值。相反，从热厌恶到吸引的价态转换与侧角的热感觉输入的特定变化有关，侧角是中枢热感觉通路的主要目标，也是苍蝇大脑中与先天价态加工有关的区域。

总之，他们的研究结果表明，在果蝇中，对不同热生态位的适应涉及热偏好行为的变化，这可以通过不同的神经生物学解决方案来实现，范围从外周热感觉受体蛋白激活阈值的变化到大脑中处理温度价的方式的重大变化。

据介绍，对特定温度范围的偏好是决定动物物种分布的关键因素。

附：英文原文

Title: Evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila

Author: Capek, Matthew, Arenas, Oscar M., Alpert, Michael H., Zaharieva, Emanuela E., Mndez-Gonzlez, Ivn D., Simes, Jos Miguel, Gil, Hamin, Acosta, Aldair, Su, Yuqing, Para, Alessia, Gallio, Marco

Issue&Volume: 2025-03-05

Abstract: The preference for a particular thermal range is a key determinant of the distribution of animal species. However, we know little on how temperature preference behaviour evolves during the colonization of new environments. Here we show that at least two distinct neurobiological mechanisms drive the evolution of temperature preference in flies of the genus Drosophila. Fly species from mild climates (D.melanogaster and D.persimilis) avoid both innocuous and noxious heat, and we show that the thermal activation threshold of the molecular heat receptor Gr28b.d precisely matches species-specific thresholds of behavioural heat avoidance. We find that desert-dwelling D.mojavensis are instead actively attracted to innocuous heat. Notably, heat attraction is also mediated by Gr28b.d (and by the antennal neurons that express it) and matches its threshold of heat activation. Rather, the switch in valence from heat aversion to attraction correlates with specific changes in thermosensory input to the lateral horn, the main target of central thermosensory pathways and a region of the fly brain implicated in the processing of innate valence1,2,3,4,5. Together, our results demonstrate that, in Drosophila, the adaptation to different thermal niches involves changes in thermal preference behaviour, and that this can be accomplished using distinct neurobiological solutions, ranging from shifts in the activation threshold of peripheral thermosensory receptor proteins to a substantial change in the way temperature valence is processed in the brain.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08682-z

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08682-z