Pleiotropic Effects of Loss of the Dα1 Subunit in Drosophila melanogaster: Implications for Insecticide Resistance

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are a highly conserved gene family that form pentameric receptors involved in fast excitatory synaptic neurotransmission. The specific roles individual nAChR subunits perform in Drosophila melanogaster and other insects are relatively uncharacterized. Of the 10 D. melanogaster nAChR subunits, only three have described roles in behavioral pathways; Dα3 and Dα4 in sleep, and Dα7 in the escape response....