Isoform-specific control of male neuronal differentiation and behavior in Drosophila by the fruitless gene

被引:104
作者
Billeter, Jean-Christophe
Villella, Adriana
Allendorfer, Jane B.
Dornan, Anthony J.
Richardson, Michael
Gailey, Donald A.
Goodwin, Stephen F. [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Glasgow, IBLS Div Mol Genet, Glasgow G11 6NU, Lanark, Scotland
[2] Brandeis Univ, Dept Biol, Waltham, MA 02454 USA
[3] Calif State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Hayward, CA 94542 USA
基金
英国惠康基金;
关键词
D O I
10.1016/j.cub.2006.04.039
中图分类号
Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];
学科分类号
071010 ; 081704 ;
摘要
Background: How the central nervous system (CNS) develops to implement innate behaviors remains largely unknown. Drosophila male sexual behavior has long been used as a model to address this question. The male-specific products of fruitless (fru) are pivotal to the emergence of this behavior. These putative transcription factors, containing one of three alternative DNA binding domains, determine the neuronal substrates for sexual behavior in male CNS. Results: We isolated the first fru coding mutation, resulting in complete loss of one isoform. At the neuronal level, this isoform alone controls differentiation of a male-specific muscle and its associated motorneuron. Conversely, a combination of isoforms is required for development of serotonergic neurons implicated in male copulatory behavior. Full development of these neurons requires the male-specific product of doublesex, a gene previously thought to act independently of fru. At the behavioral level, missing one isoform leads to diminished courtship behavior and infertility. We achieved the first rescue of a distinct fru behavioral phenotype, expressing a wild-type isoform in a defined subset of its normal expression pattern. Conclusion: This study exemplifies how complex behaviors can be controlled by a single locus through multiple isoforms regulating both developmental and physiological pathways in different neuronal substrates.
引用
收藏
页码:1063 / 1076
页数:14
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