| Title: | fruitless is sex-differentially spliced and is important for the courtship behavior and development of silkmoth Bombyx mori |
| Author(s): | Ueno M; Nakata M; Kaneko Y; Iwami M; Takayanagi-Kiya S; Kiya T; |
| Address: | "Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Japan. Division of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Japan. Electronic address: kiya@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.103989 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-0240 (Electronic) 0965-1748 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Sexual dimorphisms of the brain play essential roles in successful reproduction. Silkmoth Bombyx mori exhibits extensive sexual differences in sexual behavior, as well as their morphology. Although the neural circuits that transmit information about sex pheromone in the male brain are extensively analyzed, the molecular mechanisms that regulate their development are still elusive. In the present study, we focused on the silkmoth ortholog of fruitless (fru) as a candidate gene that regulates sexual dimorphisms of the brain. fru transcripts were expressed from multiple promoters in various tissues, and brain-specific transcripts were sex-specifically spliced, in a manner similar to Drosophila. Interestingly, fru was highly expressed in the adult female brain and the male larval testis. Analysis of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated fru knockout strains revealed that fru plays important roles in survival during late larval and pupal stages, testis development, and adult sexual behavior. fru mutant males exhibited highly reduced levels of courtship and low copulation rate, indicating that fru plays significant roles in the sexual behavior of silkmoths, although it is not absolutely necessary for copulation. In the fru mutant males, sexually dimorphic pattern of the odorant receptor expression was impaired, possibly causing the defects in courtship behavior. These results provide important clues to elucidate the development of sexual dimorphisms of silkmoth brains, as well as the evolution of fruitless gene in insects" |
| Keywords: | "Male Female Animals *Bombyx/genetics/metabolism *Drosophila Proteins/genetics/metabolism Courtship Transcription Factors/genetics Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology Drosophila/metabolism Drosophila melanogaster/metabolism Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics Br;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineUeno, Masumi Nakata, Masami Kaneko, Yoshiki Iwami, Masafumi Takayanagi-Kiya, Seika Kiya, Taketoshi eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2023/07/16 Insect Biochem Mol Biol. 2023 Aug; 159:103989. doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2023.103989. Epub 2023 Jul 13" |
