< i > fruitless < /i > tunes functional flexibility of courtship circuitry during development

Drosophila male courtship is controlled by the male-specific products of thefruitless (fruM) gene and its expressing neuronal circuitry.fruM is considered a master gene that controls all aspects of male courtship. By temporally and spatially manipulatingfruM expression, we found thatfruM is required during a critical developmental period for innate courtship towards females, while its function during adulthood is involved in inhibiting male-male courtship. By altering or eliminatingfruM expression, we generated males that are innately heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, or without innate courtship but could acquire such behavior in an experience-dependent manner. These findings show thatfruM is not absolutely necessary for courtship but is critical during development to build a sex circuitry with reduced flexibility and enhanced efficiency, and provide a new view about howfruM tunes functional flexibility of a sex circuitry instead of switching on its function as conventionally viewed.
Source: eLife - Category: Biomedical Science Tags: Neuroscience Source Type: research