title: Serotonergic neuronal death and concomitant serotonin deficiency curb copulation ability of Drosophila platonic mutants.
abstract: Drosophila platonic (plt) males court females, but fail to copulate. Here we show that plt is an allele of scribbler (sbb), a BMP signalling component. sbb knockdown in larvae leads to the loss of approximately eight serotonergic neurons, which express the sex-determinant protein Doublesex (Dsx). Genetic deprivation of serotonin (5-HT) from dsx-expressing neurons results in copulation defects. Thus, sbb+is developmentally required for the survival of a specific subset of dsx-expressing neurons, which support the normal execution of copulation in adults by providing 5-HT. Our study highlights the conserved involvement of serotonergic neurons in the control of copulatory mechanisms and the key role of BMP signalling in the formation of a sex-specific circuitry.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurogenetics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasemin B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Yilmazer
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurogenetics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayuki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Koganezawa
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurogenetics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Kosei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Chemical Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Jianghan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430056, China.
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurogenetics, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D003307:Copulation / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004330:Drosophila / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D059326:Serotonergic Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000172:deficiency*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C070369:DSX protein, Drosophila; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; C412165:sbb protein, Drosophila; D012701:Serotonin