fruitless regulates aggression and dominance in Drosophila.
When competing for resources, two Drosophila melanogaster flies of the same sex fight each other. Males and females fight with distinctly different styles, and males but not females establish dominance relationships. Here we show that sex-specific splicing of the fruitless gene plays a critical role in determining who and how a fly fights, and whether a dominance relationship forms.
Vrontou
Eleftheria
E
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 7, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
Nilsen
Steven P
SP
Demir
Ebru
E
Kravitz
Edward A
EA
Dickson
Barry J
BJ
D000374:Aggression / Q000502:physiology*; D017398:Alternative Splicing / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004291:Dominance-Subordination; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C103226:fru protein, Drosophila