Lifelong maintenance of locomotion by embryonically active dopamine neurons
Abstract
Locomotor skills arise early in life and are maintained throughout an animal’s lifespan, yet how this continuity is achieved despite major neural remodeling remains unclear. Using Drosophila, which undergoes complete metamorphosis, we show that the activity of embryonically established dopaminergic neurons (DANs) is essential for locomotion across all developmental stages and adulthood. Through stage-specific behavioral assays, optogenetics, in vivo brain imaging, and fluorescent neuronal tracking, we identify a subset of ventral nervous system (VNS) DANs that modulate locomotor function throughout life. Transcriptomic analyses reveal that they maintain expression of developmental transcription factors. Knocking down these factors, particularly Antp and Pdm2, in post-mitotic VNS DANs reduces neurite arborization and impairs adult locomotion. These findings uncover a previously overlooked function for embryonic DANs and suggest that stable locomotion during nervous system maturation relies on persistent developmental regulator expression coupled with structural remodeling.
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BibTeX
@article{padmanabhan2026lifelong,
title = {{Lifelong maintenance of locomotion by embryonically active dopamine neurons}},
author = {Aishwarya Padmanabhan and Daniel Rahman and Ruibao Zhu and Salah Khorbtli and Sarugan Sathianathan and Bastien Le Flohic and Lauren Assanga Bisse and Bertrand Mollereau and Cheng Huang and Nikolaos Konstantinides and Abdul Raouf Issa},
journal = {Cell Reports},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117524},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05761912v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Lifelong maintenance of locomotion by embryonically active dopamine neurons
AU - Aishwarya Padmanabhan
AU - Daniel Rahman
AU - Ruibao Zhu
AU - Salah Khorbtli
AU - Sarugan Sathianathan
AU - Bastien Le Flohic
AU - Lauren Assanga Bisse
AU - Bertrand Mollereau
AU - Cheng Huang
AU - Nikolaos Konstantinides
AU - Abdul Raouf Issa
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/24
JO - Cell Reports
DO - 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117524
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05761912v1
AB - Locomotor skills arise early in life and are maintained throughout an animal’s lifespan, yet how this continuity is achieved despite major neural remodeling remains unclear. Using Drosophila, which undergoes complete metamorphosis, we show that the activity of embryonically established dopaminergic neurons (DANs) is essential for locomotion across all developmental stages and adulthood. Through stage-specific behavioral assays, optogenetics, in vivo brain imaging, and fluorescent neuronal tracking, we identify a subset of ventral nervous system (VNS) DANs that modulate locomotor function throughout life. Transcriptomic analyses reveal that they maintain expression of developmental transcription factors. Knocking down these factors, particularly Antp and Pdm2, in post-mitotic VNS DANs reduces neurite arborization and impairs adult locomotion. These findings uncover a previously overlooked function for embryonic DANs and suggest that stable locomotion during nervous system maturation relies on persistent developmental regulator expression coupled with structural remodeling.
SN - 2211-1247
SN - 2211-1247
ER -