title: Short and long-lasting behavioral consequences of agonistic encounters between male Drosophila melanogaster.
abstract: In many animal species, learning and memory have been found to play important roles in regulating intra- and interspecific behavioral interactions in varying environments. In such contexts, aggression is commonly used to obtain desired resources. Previous defeats or victories during aggressive interactions have been shown to influence the outcome of later contests, revealing loser and winner effects. In this study, we asked whether short- and/or long-term behavioral consequences accompany victories and defeats in dyadic pairings between male Drosophila melanogaster and how long those effects remain. The results demonstrated that single fights induced important behavioral changes in both combatants and resulted in the formation of short-term loser and winner effects. These decayed over several hours, with the duration depending on the level of familiarity of the opponents. Repeated defeats induced a long-lasting loser effect that was dependent on de novo protein synthesis, whereas repeated victories had no long-term behavioral consequences. This suggests that separate mechanisms govern the formation of loser and winner effects. These studies aim to lay a foundation for future investigations exploring the molecular mechanisms and circuitry underlying the nervous system changes induced by winning and losing bouts during agonistic encounters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115;
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Trannoy
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Technology, Georgia Gwinnett College, Lawrenceville, GA 30043;
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Penn
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115;
authors.forename: Kenia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lucey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, 80336 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Popovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115; edward_kravitz@hms.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Edward A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kravitz
mesh_terms: D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000378:Agonistic Behavior; D000818:Animals; D003463:Cues; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D057567:Memory, Long-Term; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; C093565:amn protein, Drosophila; C526367:cer protein, Drosophila; D000262:Adenylyl Cyclases; C479926:Rut protein, Drosophila
keywords: Drosophila melanogaster; aggression; behavior; learning and memory; loser/winner effects