RT Journal Article
T1 A memory transcriptome time course reveals essential long-term memory transcription factors
A1 Jones, Spencer G.
A1 Gil Martí, Beatriz
A1 Sacristán Horcajada, Eva
A1 Edison, Abigail C.
A1 Butler, Emily F.
A1 Miandashti, Neda
A1 Roselli, Camilla
A1 Turiégano, Enrique
A1 Boto, Tamara
A1 Kramer, Jamie M.
A1 Martín Castro, Francisco Antonio
AB Long-term memory (LTM) requires transcription and translation of new proteins, yet the transcriptional control of memory remains poorly understood. Here, we performed a transcriptome time-course during LTM formation in Drosophila melanogaster exposed to courtship conditioning. We identified a mushroom body-specific transcriptional memory trace that becomes activated during memory consolidation. Using scRNAseq of CREB-activated cells we were able to detect a persistent transcriptional response in MB neurons after LTM consolidation and retrieval. As a proof of causality, we conducted a loss-of-function screen for genes comprising the transcriptional memory trace, finding 16 positive hits whose disruption impaired LTM. Among them, we identified two neuron activity-regulated genes, Hr38 and sr, which encode transcription factors that are activated by courtship LTM training, required for LTM, and bind to many genes comprising the transcriptional memory trace. Overall, we further define the transcriptional response to LTM and identify transcription factors that may help shape it.
PB Springer nature
SN 2041-1723
YR 2025
FD 2025-10
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/126505
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/126505
LA eng
NO Jones, S.G., Gil-Martí, B., Sacristán-Horcajada, E. et al. A memory transcriptome time course reveals essential long-term memory transcription factors. Nat Commun 16, 9320 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64379-x
NO EASI-Genomics - This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 824110. Part of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis was provided by the Genomics and NGS Core Facility at the Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CBMSO, CSIC-UAM) which is part of the CEI UAM + CSIC, Madrid, Spain-http://www.cbm.uam.es/genomica/. FAM was a recipient of a RyC-2014-14961 contract (2016-2022). Grant RyC-2014-14961 (FAM) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ESF Investing in your future. Grant CNS2022-135223 (FAM) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by European Union NextGeneration EU/PRTR. Grant PID2022-142742NB-I00 (FAM) funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by EDFR/EU. BG-M is a recipient of a FPI-UAM predoctoral fellowship, grant number SFPI/2020/00878. This project was also funded by a Project Grant (#363723) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to JMK and a Nova Scotia Graduate Scholarship to SGJ.
NO European Commission
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
NO Canadian Institutes of Health Research
NO Dalhousie University
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 mar 2026