The Drosophila takeout gene is regulated by the somatic sex-determination pathway and affects male courtship behavior.
The Drosophila somatic sex-determination regulatory pathway has been well studied, but little is known about the target genes that it ultimately controls. In a differential screen for sex-specific transcripts expressed in fly heads, we identified a highly male-enriched transcript encoding Takeout, a protein related to a superfamily of factors that bind small lipophilic molecules. We show that sex-specific takeout transcripts derive from fat body tissue closely associated with the adult brain and are dependent on the sex determination genes doublesex (dsx) and fruitless (fru). The male-specific Doublesex and Fruitless proteins together activate Takeout expression, whereas the female-specific Doublesex protein represses takeout independently of Fru. When cells that normally express takeout are feminized by expression of the Transformer-F protein, male courtship behavior is dramatically reduced, suggesting that male identity in these cells is necessary for behavior. A loss-of-function mutation in the takeout gene reduces male courtship and synergizes with fruitless mutations, suggesting that takeout plays a redundant role with other fru-dependent factors involved in male mating behavior. Comparison of Takeout sequences to the Drosophila genome reveals a family of 20 related secreted factors. Expression analysis of a subset of these genes suggests that the takeout gene family encodes multiple factors with sex-specific functions.
Dauwalder
Brigitte
B
Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.
Tsujimoto
Susan
S
Moss
Jason
J
Mattox
William
W
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000235:genetics; D003380:Courtship; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005216:Fat Body / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019849:Sex Determination Processes; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C070369:DSX protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012261:Ribonucleoproteins; C411066:TO protein, Drosophila; D014157:Transcription Factors; C103226:fru protein, Drosophila; C066174:tra2 protein, Drosophila