scholarly journals Octopamine release impairs courtship conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Chartove ◽  
Mengxi Cici Zhang ◽  
Edward Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Aversive Stimulus ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Subsequent Decrease ◽  
Odor Conditioning ◽  
Courtship Conditioning

Octopamine is known to have an appetitive role in odor conditioning paradigms in Drosophila melanogaster. We sought to test whether octopamine could also act as an appetitive stimulus in courtship conditioning, a paradigm in which training with an unreceptive female (such as a decapitated virgin) causes a subsequent decrease in courtship behavior in male Drosophila. To control octopamine release, we used the Tdc2-Gal4 and UAS-dTRPa1 genes in conjunction to depolarize octopaminergic neurons at 27 C in experimental flies. We hypothesized that inducing octopamine release during courtship training would decrease the aversive impact of training and cause less subsequent suppression of courtship behavior. Our findings confirmed this hypothesis: Tdc2-Gal4/UAS-dTRPa1 flies trained at 27 degrees showed significantly more courtship behavior than controls during testing, and in fact showed no significant effect of courtship training. This confirms that octopamine release counteracts the aversive stimulus of failure to copulate, indicating that octopamine may have an appetitive role in courtship.

scholarly journals REDUCED REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS FOR A CONDITIONING MUTANT IN EXPERIMENTAL POPULATIONS OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Genetics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 795-804
Author(s):  
Donald A Gailey ◽  
Jeffrey C Hall ◽  
Richard W Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Virgin Female ◽  
Mating Advantage ◽  
Mating Efficiency ◽  
Normal Males ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Dependent Modification

ABSTRACT Male Drosophila melanogaster that have courted newly-emerged males can modify their subsequent courtship behavior to avoid further courtship with immature males for up to 6 hr (previously reported). Here, it was hypothesized that such an experience-dependent modification would afford a mating advantage to normal males over males that carried a mutation that affects learning and memory. Coisogenic lines were constructed which varied at the dunce gene (dnc  + and dnc  M14 alleles) in order to test this hypothesis. Whether previously experienced with immature males or not, dnc  + and dnc  M14 males were indistinguishable in their response and mating efficiency when individually paired with virgin females. However, courtship performance of dnc  + and dnc  M14 males was different if they were first experienced with immature males and were then individually tested in an artificial population of nine immature males and one virgin female. In this situation, dnc  + males spent much less time in courtship with immature males and achieved copulation in one-third the time required for dnc  M14 males. As a control, the behavior and mating efficiency of courtship-naive dnc  + and dnc  M14 males in the artificial population was indistinguishable. In competition for a single virgin female, experienced dnc  M14 males showed a slight mating advantage over experienced dnc  + males. But when competition by experienced males for a single virgin female took place in the presence of nine immature males, dnc  + males were the successful maters in three-fourths of the trials.

scholarly journals Turning Males On: Activation of Male Courtship Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

PLoS ONE ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. e21144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yufeng Pan ◽  
Carmen C. Robinett ◽  
Bruce S. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Male Courtship ◽  
Male Courtship Behavior

scholarly journals Expression Level of sarah, a Homolog of DSCR1, Is Critical for Ovulation and Female Courtship Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

Genetics ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 168 (4) ◽  
pp. 2077-2087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aki Ejima ◽  
Manabu Tsuda ◽  
Satomi Takeo ◽  
Kunimasa Ishii ◽  
Takashi Matsuo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Expression Level

scholarly journals A role for the Fem-1 gene of Drosophila melanogaster in adult courtship

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Thies ◽  
Brett Berke
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Mutational Analysis ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Evolutionary Relationships ◽  
Induced Mutations ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Conserved Gene

The Fem family of genes influences sex determination and/or the development of sex-specific characteristics in a wide variety of organisms. Here, we describe the first mutational analysis of the Fem-1 gene of Drosophila melanogaster. The amino acid sequence of the two Drosophila Fem-1 transcripts are moderately conserved compared to that of both Fem-1 in C. elegans and the two Fem-1 transcripts in humans, with multiple ankyrin repeats. Using two transposon-induced mutations of Drosophila Fem-1, we observed striking defects in adult courtship behavior that are attributed to defects in male courting as opposed to female receptivity. Specifically, viable Fem-1 mutant males courted Fem-1 females more vigorously with an increased amount of chasing and singing than pairs of control flies. Nevertheless, Fem-1 males did not copulate at a higher frequency than controls. The above courtship defects persisted when Fem-1 males courted control females, but no phenotypes were observed when control males courted Fem-1 females. These results indicate that Drosophila Fem-1 may interact with other genes involved in courtship and sex determination. Fem-1 mutants also suppressed wing and body growth, consistent with the actions of a homologue in mice. Additional analyses of these Fem-1 alleles will help address the nature of these mutations, deepen our molecular understanding of courtship, and contribute to the evolutionary relationships among this highly conserved gene family.

scholarly journals ppk23-Dependent Chemosensory Functions Contribute to Courtship Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster

PLoS Genetics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e1002587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beika Lu ◽  
Angela LaMora ◽  
Yishan Sun ◽  
Michael J. Welsh ◽  
Yehuda Ben-Shahar
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Courtship Behavior
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