quick-to-court, a Drosophila mutant with elevated levels of sexual behavior, is defective in a predicted coiled-coil protein.
Remarkably little is known about the molecular mechanisms that drive sexual behavior. We have identified a new gene, quick-to-court (qtc), whose mutations cause males to show high levels of male-male courtship. qtc males also show a novel phenotype: when placed in the presence of a virgin female, they begin courtship abnormally quickly. qtc mutations are striking in their specificity, in that many aspects of male sexual behavior are normal. We have cloned the qtc gene and found that it encodes a predicted coiled-coil protein and is expressed in the olfactory organs, central nervous system, and male reproductive tract.
Gaines
P
P
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8103, USA.
Tompkins
L
L
Woodard
C T
CT
Carlson
J R
JR
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005260:Female; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000378:metabolism; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009833:Olfactory Pathways / Q000378:metabolism; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; C411988:qtc protein, Drosophila