摘要
Sleep,an essential and evolutionarily conserved behavior,is regulated by numerous neurotransmitter systems.In mammals,glutamate serves as the wake-promoting signaling agent,whereas in Drosophila,it functions as the sleep-promoting signal.However,the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms through which glutamate promotes sleep remain elusive.Our study reveals that disruption of glutamate signaling significantly diminishes nocturnal sleep,and a neural cell-specific knockdown of the glutamate-gated chloride channel(GluClα)markedly reduces nocturnal sleep.We identified two pairs of neurons in the ventral nerve cord(VNC)that receive glutamate signaling input,and the GluClαderived from these neurons is crucial for sleep promotion.Furthermore,we demonstrated that GluClαmediates the glutamate-gated inhibitory input to these VNC neurons,thereby promoting sleep.Our findings elucidate that GluClαenhances nocturnal sleep by mediating the glutamate-gated inhibitory input to two pairs of VNC neurons,providing insights into the mechanism of sleep promotion in Drosophila.
基金
supported by an STI2030-Major Project(2021ZD0202500)
the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32230039 and 32170970).
