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Abstract
We describe a paradigm for nociception in Drosophila. In response to the touch of
a probe heated above 38 degrees C, Drosophila larvae produce a stereotypical rolling
behavior, unlike the response to an unheated probe. In a genetic screen for mutants
defective in this noxious heat response, we identified the painless gene. Recordings
from wild-type larval nerves identified neurons that initiated strong spiking above
38 degrees C, and this activity was absent in the painless mutant. The painless mRNA
encodes a protein of the transient receptor potential ion channel family. Painless
is required for both thermal and mechanical nociception, but not for sensing light
touch. painless is expressed in peripheral neurons that extend multiple branched dendrites
beneath the larval epidermis, similar to vertebrate pain receptors. An antibody to
Painless binds to localized dendritic structures that we hypothesize are involved
in nociceptive signaling.