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Molecular and neural mechanisms regulating sexual motivation of virgin female Drosophila

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Abstract

During courtship, multiple information sources are integrated in the brain to reach a final decision, i.e., whether or not to mate. The brain functions for this complex behavior can be investigated by genetically manipulating genes and neurons, and performing anatomical, physiological, and behavioral analyses. Drosophila is a powerful model experimental system for such studies, which need to be integrated from molecular and cellular levels to the behavioral level, and has enabled pioneering research to be conducted. In male flies, which exhibit a variety of characteristic sexual behaviors, we have accumulated knowledge of many genes and neural circuits that control sexual behaviors. On the other hand, despite the importance of the mechanisms of mating decision-making in females from an evolutionary perspective (such as sexual selection), research on the mechanisms that control sexual behavior in females has progressed somewhat slower. In this review, we focus on the pre-mating behavior of female Drosophila melanogaster, and introduce previous key findings on the neuronal and molecular mechanisms that integrate sensory information and selective expression of behaviors toward the courting male.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Matthew Paul Su for editorial assistance. H.I. and A.K. are supported by funds the supported by MEXT KAKENHI Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (Grant JP20H03355 to AK), Scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Evolinguistics” (Grant JP20H04997 to AK), “Systems science of bio-navigation (Grant 19H04933 to AK), Challenging Research (Exploratory) (Grant 17K19450 to AK), Grant-in Aid for Scientific research (C) (15K07147 and 18K06332 to HI), the Naito Foundation to AK, and Inamori Foundation Research Grant, Japan to HI.

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    Hiroshi Ishimoto & Azusa Kamikouchi

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Ishimoto, H., Kamikouchi, A. Molecular and neural mechanisms regulating sexual motivation of virgin female Drosophila. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 78, 4805–4819 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-03820-y

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