东南大学潘玉峰团队研制了果蝇的空间依赖性产卵偏好。相关论文于2026年6月4日发表在《神经科学通报》杂志上。

为了研究果蝇的空间依赖性产卵偏好，该课题组研究人员建立了行为分析方法，并鉴定出DEG/ENaC家族成员Pickpocket 26 （Ppk26）在波浪面和平面上调节产卵偏好。表达ppk26的感觉神经元对产卵器接触有反应，并特异性地介导基于平面的产卵偏好，但不影响其他空间或非空间偏好。

此外，研究小组发现波浪状表面允许更多地接触苍蝇的产卵器，以优先激活表达ppk26的神经元，并促进卵插入波浪状产卵部位。这些发现强调了空间线索在产卵决策中的作用，并确立了ppk26在产卵选址过程中作为基于接触的空间编码的关键中介。

据悉，卵泡动物通过多模式整合环境线索优化产卵地点选择。先前的研究已经将果蝇建立为基于评估食物成分和硬度来研究产卵决策的理想模型，但空间线索如何直接影响产卵策略仍然知之甚少。

附：英文原文

Title: Space-Dependent Oviposition Preference in Drosophila

Author: Su, Xiangbin, Jia, Yicong, Gao, Can, Hu, Shanshan, Ye, Wenjing, Jin, Sihui, Liang, Zijian, Chen, Dongliang, Chen, Jie, Peng, Qionglin, Guo, Fang, Wu, Shun-Fan, Pan, Yufeng

Issue&Volume: 2026-06-04

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.

DOI: 10.1007/s12264-026-01634-1

Source: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12264-026-01634-1