Xiangbin Su1  · Yicong Jia2  · Can Gao1  · Shanshan Hu3  · Wenjing Ye3  · Sihui Jin1  · Zijian Liang1  · Dongliang Chen1  · Jie Chen4  · Qionglin Peng1  · Fang Guo3  · Shun‑Fan Wu4  · Yufeng Pan1

1 The Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Brain Science and Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China 

2 College of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan 430062, China 

3 Department of Neurobiology, Department of Neurology of Sir Run Shaw Hospital and School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310058, China 

4 College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China

Abstract

Oviparous animals optimize egg-laying site selection through multimodal integration of environmental cues. Previous studies have established Drosophila as an ideal model to study egg-laying decision-making based on evaluating food ingredients and hardness, but how spatial cues direct oviposition strategies remains poorly understood. Here, we established behavioral assays for studying space-dependent oviposition preference in Drosophila, and identified Pickpocket 26 (Ppk26), a member of the DEG/ENaC family, regulating oviposition preference on waved versus flat surfaces. ppk26-expressing sensory neurons respond to ovipositor contact and specifically mediate flatness-based oviposition preference, but not other spatial or non-spatial preferences. Moreover, we found that a waved surface allowed more contact with flies’ ovipositor to preferentially activate ppk26-expressing neurons and facilitate egg insertion into the waved oviposition site. These findings highlight a role for spatial cues in oviposition decision-making and establish ppk26 as a key mediator of contact-based spatial encoding during oviposition site selection.

Keywords

Oviposition behavior; Decision-making; Spatial cues; ppk26; Mechanosensation; Drosophila melanogaster

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