title: Abdominal-B neurons control Drosophila virgin female receptivity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Female sexual receptivity offers an excellent model for complex behavioral decisions. The female must parse her own reproductive state, the external environment, and male sensory cues to decide whether to copulate. In the fly Drosophila melanogaster, virgin female receptivity has received relatively little attention, and its neural circuitry and individual behavioral components remain unmapped. Using a genome-wide neuronal RNAi screen, we identify a subpopulation of neurons responsible for pausing, a novel behavioral aspect of virgin female receptivity characterized in this study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We show that Abdominal-B (Abd-B), a homeobox transcription factor, is required in developing neurons for high levels of virgin female receptivity. Silencing adult Abd-B neurons significantly decreased receptivity. We characterize two components of receptivity that are elicited in sexually mature females by male courtship: pausing and vaginal plate opening. Silencing Abd-B neurons decreased pausing but did not affect vaginal plate opening, demonstrating that these two components of female sexual behavior are functionally separable. Synthetic activation of Abd-B neurons increased pausing, but male courtship song alone was not sufficient to elicit this behavior.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results provide an entry point to the neural circuit controlling virgin female receptivity. The female integrates multiple sensory cues from the male to execute discrete motor programs prior to copulation. Abd-B neurons control pausing, a key aspect of female sexual receptivity, in response to male courtship.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 63, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Bussell
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 63, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Nilay
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yapici
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 63, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen X
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA.
authors.forename: Barry J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, Box 63, New York, NY 10065, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Electronic address: leslie.vosshall@rockefeller.edu.
authors.forename: Leslie B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Vosshall
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D003380:Courtship; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C062393:Abd-B proteins, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering