| Title: | Activation of Latent Courtship Circuitry in the Brain of Drosophila Females Induces Male-like Behaviors |
| Author(s): | Rezaval C; Pattnaik S; Pavlou HJ; Nojima T; Bruggemeier B; D'Souza LAD; Dweck HKM; Goodwin SF; |
| Address: | "Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK. Electronic address: carolina.rezaval@dpag.ox.ac.uk. Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK. Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, 07745 Jena, Germany" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.021 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Print) 0960-9822 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Courtship in Drosophila melanogaster offers a powerful experimental paradigm for the study of innate sexually dimorphic behaviors [1, 2]. Fruit fly males exhibit an elaborate courtship display toward a potential mate [1, 2]. Females never actively court males, but their response to the male's display determines whether mating will actually occur. Sex-specific behaviors are hardwired into the nervous system via the actions of the sex determination genes doublesex (dsx) and fruitless (fru) [1]. Activation of male-specific dsx/fru(+) P1 neurons in the brain initiates the male's courtship display [3, 4], suggesting that neurons unique to males trigger this sex-specific behavior. In females, dsx(+) neurons play a pivotal role in sexual receptivity and post-mating behaviors [1, 2, 5-9]. Yet it is still unclear how dsx(+) neurons and dimorphisms in these circuits give rise to the different behaviors displayed by males and females. Here, we manipulated the function of dsx(+) neurons in the female brain to investigate higher-order neurons that drive female behaviors. Surprisingly, we found that activation of female dsx(+) neurons in the brain induces females to behave like males by promoting male-typical courtship behaviors. Activated females display courtship toward conspecific males or females, as well other Drosophila species. We uncovered specific dsx(+) neurons critical for driving male courtship and identified pheromones that trigger such behaviors in activated females. While male courtship behavior was thought to arise from male-specific central neurons, our study shows that the female brain is equipped with latent courtship circuitry capable of inducing this male-specific behavioral program" |
| Keywords: | Animals Brain/physiology *Courtship Drosophila melanogaster/*physiology Female Neurons/*physiology; |
| Notes: | "MedlineRezaval, Carolina Pattnaik, Siddharth Pavlou, Hania J Nojima, Tetsuya Bruggemeier, Birgit D'Souza, Luis A D Dweck, Hany K M Goodwin, Stephen F eng BB/N000803/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom WT106189MA/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2016/08/30 Curr Biol. 2016 Sep 26; 26(18):2508-2515. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.07.021. Epub 2016 Aug 25" |
