Evolution and integration of a novel cell type in the housefly Love Spot

The addition of new neuron types is thought to underlie the evolution of complex nervous systems, yet the mechanisms by which they arise remain unclear. Here we investigate the evolution of a novel target detection photoreceptor in the housefly Musca domestica . In males, a dorso-frontal eye region known as the “Love Spot” enables rapid detection and tracking of females during mating flights. In this region, R7 photoreceptors - normally dedicated to color vision - are repurposed for target detection through altered Rhodopsin expression, physiology, and circuit connectivity. We show that these Love Spot R7 cells (LsR7) are initially specified as canonical R7 photoreceptors but later adopt a chimeric identity combining transcription factors normally associated with either color or motion vision. The sex-determination transcription factor Doublesex (Dsx) is strongly upregulated after R7 specification and, together with the transcription factor Spineless, drives the LsR7 gene regulatory program. Because Dsx upregulation occurs after initial axon targeting to the medulla, LsR7 axons subsequently shorten to connect with lamina neurons and OFF-pathway motion vision circuits. These findings show how new combinations of cell-identity regulators can generate novel neural cell types while revealing developmental constraints imposed by evolutionary history.