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A Method to Test the Effect of Environmental Cues on Mating Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster
Published on: July 17, 2017
Neural circuitry underlying Drosophila female postmating behavioral responses
Carolina Rezával1, Hania J Pavlou, Anthony J Dornan
1Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Sherrington Building, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PT, UK.
Current Biology : CB
|June 5, 2012
Summary
The doublesex (dsx) gene regulates female fruit fly mating behavior after mating. dsx circuitry in the abdominal ganglion is crucial for processing sex peptide signals and initiating postmating responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Behavioral Genetics
Background:
- Mating triggers significant behavioral and physiological changes in female Drosophila.
- Male sex peptide (SP) is transferred during mating and initiates these postmating responses.
- SP signals are detected by sensory neurons coexpressing fruitless (fru) and pickpocket (ppk) in the reproductive tract.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of doublesex (dsx) gene-expressing neurons in female postmating responses.
- To identify the neuronal pathways involved in relaying SP sensory information to central circuits.
- To understand how these inputs are processed to direct female-specific mating behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Utilized genetic analysis of dsx and its role in postmating behaviors.
- Investigated neuronal circuitry by examining dsx expression patterns.
- Mapped neuronal projections from the abdominal ganglion to the brain and uterus.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated an essential role for dsx-expressing neurons in regulating female postmating responses.
- Identified shared circuitry between dsx and SP-responsive fru(+)/ppk(+) neurons.
- Discovered sexually dimorphic dsx circuitry in the abdominal ganglion critical for postmating responses, with projections to the brain and uterus.
Conclusions:
- dsx-specified circuitry is essential for inducing female postmating behaviors.
- This circuitry mediates signal transduction from SP sensing to higher-order processing.
- It ultimately drives the generation of postmating behavioral and physiological outputs.
