A single social defeat reduces aggression in a highly aggressive strain of Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Genes and prior experience both influence the behavior of animals, but the relative contribution of each to fighting behavior in Drosophila remains unclear. To address this issue, we bred hyperaggressive flies by selecting winners of fights over 34-37 generations. Males of this strain initiate fights sooner, retaliate more often, and regularly defeat opponents from the nonselected parent Canton-S strain. After a defeat, however, these highly aggressive flies lose their second fights against socially naïve counterparts. Defeated flies also lunge and retaliate less after experiencing a loss, suggesting that the subsequent losses result from flies becoming less aggressive. Remarkably, flies that were once capable of engaging in high-intensity boxing and tussling patterns of behavior for exten

SUBMITTER: Penn JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2906583 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature