Non-lethal effects of predation risk enhance long-term memory in Drosophila melanogaster - UTU Research Portal

A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Non-lethal effects of predation risk enhance long-term memory in Drosophila melanogaster

Authors: Krama, Tatjana; Krams, Ronalds; Popovs, Sergejs; Trakimas, Giedrius; Adams, Colton B.; Freeberg, Todd M.; Jõers, Priit; Contreras-Garduño, Jorge; Rantala, Markus J.; Krams, Indrikis A.

Publisher: BRILL

Publishing place: LEIDEN

Publication year: 2025

Journal: Behaviour

Journal name in source: BEHAVIOUR

Journal acronym: BEHAVIOUR

Volume: 162

Issue: 3-4

First page : 227

Last page: 241

Number of pages: 15

ISSN: 0005-7959

eISSN: 1568-539X

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/1568539X-bja10302

Web address : https://brill.com/view/journals/beh/162/3-4/article-p227_3.xml

Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/491883045

Abstract

Predator fear can leave long-lasting impacts on the neural circuitry and behaviours of prey organisms, leading to enduring effects on memory characteristic of post-traumatic stress disorder. Previous research showed better survival in Drosophila grown with predators and, thus, stress. A better long-term memory can likely help Drosophila avoid visiting places where predators have been spotted before. We investigated the link between predator-induced stress exposure and memory retention in two groups of Drosophila. In this study, one group of Drosophila was exposed to visual and olfactory signals of spiders during the first five days of their adult stage, prior to memory testing. We found that 1 h short-term memory did not differ between experimental flies and flies in the control group, which were raised without spiders. In contrast, flies exposed to predator presence exhibited better long-term memory than control flies 24 h later. The strain of Drosophila used was found to possess a diabetes-like biochemical phenotype in a previous study, indicating metabolic shifts between glucose and lipids, which influences memory formation and retention. We show that linking long-term memory, body and brain metabolism, and predation risk-induced stress is needed to better understand the post-traumatic stress-associated biochemical and behavioural adaptations of Drosophila.

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Funding information in the publication:
We thank the Fulbright US Student Program, the Latvian Fulbright Post, and the US Department of State. We also thank Dr. Kevin Cook for providing us with stock flies and members of the Freeberg lab Scott Benson, Heather Brooks, Zaharia Selman, Eric Frazier, Harry Pepper and Ryan Risner for helpful critiques of earlier drafts of this manuscript. This publication/research supported within the framework of the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Mechanism project No. 5.2.1.1.i.0/2/24/I/CFLA/001 “Consolidation of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis and the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre” to I.A.K.