Sex-peptide-regulated female sexual behavior requires a subset of ascending ventral nerve cord neurons.
BACKGROUND
Male-derived Sex-peptide (SP) elicits egg laying and rejection of courting males in mated Drosophila females. Little is known about the genes that specify the underlying neuronal circuits and mediate this switch in female sexual behavior.


RESULTS
Here we show that the egghead gene involved in glycosphingolipid biosynthesis provides an essential component to the SP response. We have isolated viable alleles of the vital egghead gene that abolish egghead expression from a distal promoter resulting in the absence of the largest transcript of this complex transcription unit. Temporally and spatially restricted expression of egghead revealed a requirement for egghead early in the development of apterous-expressing ventral nerve cord neurons to rescue the SP response. In viable egghead alleles, these ascending interneurons, three per abdominal and seven per thoracic hemisegment, fail to innervate the central brain. egghead expression in apterous neurons rescues neuronal targeting and the response to SP. Furthermore, neurotransmission in apterous neurons is required to elicit the SP response.


CONCLUSIONS
Together with the former finding of SP binding to afferent nerves , these results suggest that SP-mediated modification of sensory input switches female sexual behavior from the virgin to the mated state.
Soller
Matthias
M
Department of Biology and Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454, USA. msoller@brandeis.edu
Haussmann
Irmgard U
IU
Hollmann
Martin
M
Choffat
Yves
Y
White
Kalpana
K
Kubli
Eric
E
Schäfer
Mireille A
MA
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D007395:Interneurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010058:Oviposition / Q000235:genetics; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D036341:Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D060850:LIM-Homeodomain Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C489175:Mst57Dc protein, Drosophila; D010455:Peptides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011993:Recombinant Fusion Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C074459:ap protein, Drosophila; C103962:egh protein, Drosophila