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Activation of the T1 neuronal circuit is necessary and sufficient to induce sexually dimorphic mating behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: The molecular and cellular events mediating complex behaviors in animals are largely unknown. Elucidating the circuits underlying behaviors in simple model systems may shed light on how these circuits function. In drosophila, courtship behavior provides a tractable model for studying the underlying basis of innate behavior. The male-specific pheromone 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) modulates courtship behavior and is detected by T1 neurons, located on the antenna of male and female flies. The T1 neurons express the odorant receptor Or67d and are exquisitely tuned to cVA pheromone. However, cVA-induced changes in mating behavior have also been reported upon manipulation of olfactory neurons expressing odorant receptor Or65a. These findings raise the issue of whether multiple olfactory-driven circuits underlie cVA-induced behavioral responses and what role these circuits play in behavior. Here, we engineered flies in which the Or67d circuit is specifically activated in the absence of cVA to determine the role of this circuit in behavior. We created transgenic flies that express a dominant-active, pheromone-independent variant of the extracellular pheromone receptor, LUSH. We found that, similar to the behaviors elicited by cVA, engineered male flies have dramatically reduced courtship, whereas engineered females showed enhanced courtship. cVA exposure did not enhance the dominant LUSH-triggered effects on behavior in the engineered flies. Finally, we show the effects of both cVA and dominant LUSH on courtship are reversed by genetically removing Or67d. These findings demonstrate that the T1/Or67d circuit is necessary and sufficient to mediate sexually dimorphic courtship behaviors.

SUBMITTER: Ronderos DS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3426441 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Activation of the T1 neuronal circuit is necessary and sufficient to induce sexually dimorphic mating behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

Ronderos David S DS Smith Dean P DP

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20100201 7

The molecular and cellular events mediating complex behaviors in animals are largely unknown. Elucidating the circuits underlying behaviors in simple model systems may shed light on how these circuits function. In drosophila, courtship behavior provides a tractable model for studying the underlying basis of innate behavior. The male-specific pheromone 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) modulates courtship behavior and is detected by T1 neurons, located on the antenna of male and female flies. The T1 ...[more]

PMID: 20164344

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Project description:In many species, female reproductive investment comes at a cost to immunity and resistance to infection. Mated Drosophila melanogaster females are more susceptible to bacterial infection than unmated females. Transfer of the male seminal fluid protein Sex Peptide reduces female post-mating immune defense. Sex Peptide is known to cause both short- and long-term changes to female physiology and behavior. While previous studies showed that females were less resistant to bacterial infection as soon as 2.5 h and as long as 26.5 h after mating, it is unknown whether this is a binary switch from mated to unmated state or whether females can recover to unmated levels of immunity. It is additionally unknown whether repeated mating causes progressive reduction in defense capacity. We compared the immune defense of mated females when infected at 2, 4, 7, or 10 days after mating to that of unmated females and saw no recovery of immune capacity regardless of the length of time between mating and infection. Because D. melanogaster females can mate multiply, we additionally tested whether a second mating, and therefore a second transfer of seminal fluids, caused deeper reduction in immune performance. We found that females mated either once or twice before infection survived at equal proportions, both with significantly lower probability than unmated females. We conclude that a single mating event is sufficient to persistently suppress the female immune system. Interestingly, we observed that induced levels of expression of genes encoding antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) decreased with age in both experiments, partially obscuring the effects of mating. Collectively, the data indicate that being reproductively active versus reproductively inactive are alternative binary states with respect to female D. melanogaster immunity. The establishment of a suppressed immune status in reproductively active females can inform our understanding of the regulation of immune defense and the mechanisms of physiological trade-offs.

Dataset Information

Activation of the T1 neuronal circuit is necessary and sufficient to induce sexually dimorphic mating behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

Publications

Activation of the T1 neuronal circuit is necessary and sufficient to induce sexually dimorphic mating behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

Similar Datasets

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