Courtship Behavior of Brain Mosaics in Drosophila

Abstract

Sites in the brain that show functional, sexual dimorphism in courtship behavior have been mapped at high resolution in male/female mosaics of Drosophila melanogaster. The sex mosaics were produced by enhancer-trap expression of GALA driving the female-spliced form of the transformer gene (tra), revealing sites in the dorsal brain, lateral proto-cerebrum, suboesophageal, thoracic and abdominal ganglia, and suggesting the importance of cross-talk between these regions in the implementation of the courtship sequence.

Key Words:

• Male-specific
• female-specific behaviors
• GAL4 transgenics
• tra transgenic
• reporter transgenic
• neural mapping behavioral foci

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ralph J. Greenspan

Joyce Laing works in the Department of Child and Family Psychiatry, Playfield House, Cupar, Fife, and is a Consultant Art Therapist to Psychiatric Hospitals and Prisons and Chairwoman of the Scottish Society of Art and Psychology.