Mutation of the Drosophila melanogaster serotonin transporter dSERT impacts sleep, courtship, and feeding behaviors

• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010289
• Publication Date: 2022-11-21T18:52:30Z
• Authors: Elizabeth M. Knapp; Andrea Kaiser; Rebecca C. Arnold; Maureen M. Sampson; Manuela Ruppert; Li Xu; Matthew I. Anderson; Shivan L. Bonanno; Henrike Scholz; Jeffrey M. Donlea; David E. Krantz
• Keywords: Sleep

The Serotonin Transporter (SERT) regulates extracellular serotonin levels and is the target of most current drugs used to treat depression. mechanisms by which inhibition SERT activity influences behavior are poorly understood. To address this question in model organism Drosophila melanogaster , we developed new loss function mutations ( dSERT) . Previous studies both flies mammals have implicated as an important neuromodulator sleep, our newly generated dSERT mutants show increase total sleep altered architecture that mimicked feeding SSRI citalopram. Differences daytime versus nighttime well genetic rescue experiments unexpectedly suggest distinct serotonergic circuits may modulate sleep. also defects copulation food intake, akin clinical side effects SSRIs consistent with pleomorphic influence on D Starvation did not overcome drive male mutants, mate failed drive. be further explore its interplay other complex behaviors.