title: The Drosophila calcineurin regulator, Sarah, is involved in male courtship.
abstract: The Drosophila Sarah (sra) gene encodes a regulator of the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein phosphatase, calcineurin, and plays an essential role in various biological processes. Here, we describe a novel role of sra in Drosophila male courtship behavior. sra null mutant males have reduced courtship activity. This reduced activity can be rescued by expressing sra in the mushroom bodies (MBs), brain structures important for memory formation and storage in Drosophila. In addition, overexpressing sra in the MBs, and transiently overexpressing sra during adulthood, inhibits male courtship. Our results indicate that a specific amount of sra in the MBs is required for wildtype male courtship activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan. sakai-takaomi@center.tmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Takaomi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aigaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000378:metabolism; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D003380:Courtship; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D024521:Mushroom Bodies / Q000378:metabolism; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C513393:Sra protein, Drosophila; D019703:Calcineurin