Data from: Sensation of electric fields in Drosophila melanogaster

Electrosensation has emerged as a crucial sensory modality for social
communication, foraging, and predation across the animal kingdom. However,
its presence and functional role as well as the neural basis of electric
field perception in Drosophila and other invertebrates remain unclear. In
environments with controlled electric fields, we identified
electrosensation as a new sense in the Drosophila melanogaster larva. We
found that the Drosophila larva performs robust electrotaxis: when exposed
to a uniform electric field, larvae migrate toward the cathode (negative
potential) and quickly respond to changes in the orientation of the field
to maintain cathodal movement. Through a behavioral screen, we identified
a subset of sensory neurons located at the tip of the larval head that are
necessary for electrotaxis. Calcium imaging revealed that a pair of
Gr66a-positive sensory neurons (one on each side of the head) encodes the
strength and orientation of the electric field. Our results indicate that
electric fields elicit robust behavioral and neural responses in the
Drosophila larva, providing new evidence for the significance of
electrosensation in invertebrates.