Magnesium efflux from Drosophila Kenyon cells is critical for normal and diet-enhanced long-term memory

• Published in: eLife Vol. 9
• Main Authors: Wu, Yanying, Funato, Yosuke, Meschi, Eleonora, Jovanoski, Kristijan D, Miki, Hiroaki, Waddell, Scott
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England eLife Science Publications, Ltd 26.11.2020; eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd; eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Animals; Cognition; Cyclic adenylic acid; Diet; Dietary supplements; Drosophila; Drosophila melanogaster - metabolism; Drosophila Proteins - metabolism; efflux transporter; enhancement; Fruit-flies; Glutamate; Hippocampus - physiology; magnesium; Magnesium - metabolism; memory; Memory - physiology; Mushroom Bodies - physiology; Neurons; Neurons - physiology; Neuroscience; Signal Transduction - physiology; magnesium; efflux transporter; memory; enhancement; D. melanogaster; neuroscience
• ISSN: 2050-084X; 2050-084X
• DOI: 10.7554/elife.61339

Dietary magnesium (Mg ) supplementation can enhance memory in young and aged rats. Memory-enhancing capacity was largely ascribed to increases in hippocampal synaptic density and elevated expression of the NR2B subunit of the NMDA-type glutamate receptor. Here we show that Mg feeding also enhances long-term memory in . Normal and Mg -enhanced fly memory appears independent of NMDA receptors in the mushroom body and instead requires expression of a conserved CNNM-type Mg -efflux transporter encoded by the ( ) gene. UEX contains a putative cyclic nucleotide-binding homology domain and its mutation separates a vital role for from a function in memory. Moreover, UEX localization in mushroom body Kenyon cells (KCs) is altered in memory-defective flies harboring mutations in cAMP-related genes. Functional imaging suggests that UEX-dependent efflux is required for slow rhythmic maintenance of KC Mg . We propose that regulated neuronal Mg efflux is critical for normal and Mg -enhanced memory.