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PubMed2003

The ability of Drosophila mutants with defects in the central complex and mushroom bodies to learn and form memories.

One of the most important questions in the genetics of behavior is that of studies of the mechanisms of learning and memory. A convenient system for this is provided by Drosophila melanogaster, in which a whole series of mutations affecting the formation of different types of memory and learning have been obtained. The brain formations involved in these processes have been studied in parallel. Attention is currently focused on two main structures: the central complex and the mushroom bodies. These mediate the integration and storage of information accumulating during the process of learning. Mutants with defects in individual parts of the central complex and mushroom bodies have been obtained. Mutants simultaneously affecting the operation, development, or structure of the central part of the cerebral neural ganglion and the ability to learn and form memory traces are of particular interest. We have evaluated the learning ability of mutants with defects in the central complex (cexKS181 and ccbKS127) and mutants with defects in the mushroom bodies (mud1, mbm1, and cxbN71), using a method based on the conditioned reflex suppression of courtship. Memory defects were seen in cexKS181 and mud1 mutants.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Comparative studies of four Drosophila P-insertion mutants with memory defects.

Studies of conditioned reflex courtship suppression in mutant Drosophila males in two tests--a memory retention test (with a virgin female) and a repeat training test (with a fertilized female)--yielded experimental support for a previously suggested physiological model of the acquisition of this reflex. Mutations altered both types of conditioned association suggested in the model, i.e., the association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (lat, rut, dnc, amn, and P153) and the association between the conditioned stimulus and the aversive motivational system mediating the action of the unconditioned stimulus (P171). A third category of mutants appeared to have a disturbance to the function of the aversive motivational system (P95 and P124).

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Female sex pheromone-mediated effects on behavior and consequences of male competition in the shore crab (Carcinus maenas).

Exposure to receptive female pheromone elicits guarding behavior in shore crab males (Carcinus maenas), but little is known about the effects of sex pheromone on male competition or if the female plays an active role in mate choice. This study examined whether female pheromone enhanced agonistic behavior between males and what effects visual and chemical cues had on the rules and costs of such contests. We also investigated whether females exhibit a preference for males in terms of size. Under laboratory conditions, solitary male shore crabs engaged males who already had possession of a female. The visual and chemical presence of a receptive female had an impact on contest rules and costs. Fights were costly in terms of duration and of sustaining injury with either one or both crabs incurring injury in 40% of fights. To investigate the metabolic consequences of fighting over a perceived sexual resource (chemical cue only), fights were staged between pairs of size-matched males in the presence of water containing the female sex pheromone, water in which males had been kept, and untreated seawater. The duration and intensity of contests were greater when staged in the presence of the female pheromone compared with the two other treatments. Crabs that fought in the presence of female sex pheromone also had a greater accumulation of L-lactate and a reduction of glycogen stores. Fights were less costly in terms of injury with a single chemical cue compared with enhanced costs with a multiple sexual cue. The importance of female choice was determined by presenting postmolt females with different sized males. Males were kept in a fixed position, and the majority of females approached and performed courtship behavior to the largest males, demonstrating that females may be selective in terms of size.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Male bugs modulate pheromone emission in response to vibratory signals from conspecifics.

Male Nezara viridula emit a volatile sex pheromone that acts as a long-range attractant to females. Both sexes communicate through vibrations once they are on the same plant. Males respond to the female calling song by emitting a male courtship song, and they orient to the female calling song on a plant. Simultaneity between vibratory and chemical communication during the last steps of mate finding suggests that pheromone emission might be modulated by signals from conspecifics. Male volatile emissions were collected with fibers for solid-phase microextraction, while male bugs were stimulated with natural and artificial signals. Percentages of males releasing pheromone and collected amounts of pheromone increased when males were stimulated with female calling song. Pheromone emission was stable in males stimulated with male rivalry songs, and it decreased in males stimulated with a 100-Hz artificial signal. The ability of male bugs to modulate their pheromone emission may reduce metabolic costs, reduce parasitism, and offer a better synchronization of sexual activity.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Comparison of oligosaccharide compositions in male nuptial secretions of three cockroach species of the genus Blattella.

Male cockroaches of the genus Blattella secrete courtship pheromones from abdominal tergal glands. Conspecific females mount courting males and feed on their tergal exudates. In the German cockroach, B. germanica, a complex mixture of oligosaccharides was previously identified as the major phagostimulants in the male tergal secretion. We compared the oligosaccharide compositions of three Blattella species from different habitats, B. germanica (house), B. lituricollis (field), and B. nipponica (forest), by gas chromatographic (GC) analysis of their trifluoroacetylated derivatives. The three possessed a series of maltooligosaccharides and oligoglucosyl trehaloses with alpha1-->4 and alpha1-->1 linkages in common. However, B. germanica was conspicuous for its accumulation of a oligoglucosyl trehalose with a alpha1-->6 linkage [O-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-alpha-D-glucopyranosyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside] as the most prominent component of the secretion. Such diversification of the male pheromonal compositions within the genus might be reflected by biosynthetic systems in males and chemosensory properties in females suited for their natural habitat.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Correlated responses to selection for developmental period in Bactrocera cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae): time of mating and daily activity rhythms.

Comparisons of "time of mating" (the time copulation begins) between lines selected for short and long developmental periods have been made in the melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae. These comparisons showed that longer development periods were associated with later initiation of mating. Crosses were also made between selected lines to ascertain the genetic basis of developmental period and time of mating. Comparisons of daily activity rhythms for four types of behavior (locomotion, preening, feeding, and wing vibration) between the selected lines showed the following; (1) locomotion and preening occurred in daytime for the short developmental period lines, versus mainly at night for the long developmental period lines; (2) feeding behavior occurred in daytime for both the short and the long developmental period lines; and (3) wing vibration, a component of courtship behavior of males, occurred at dusk for the short developmental period lines and at night for the long developmental period lines.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A newly uncovered phenotype associated with the fruitless gene of Drosophila melanogaster: aggression-like head interactions between mutant males.

Male sexual behavior is regulated by the sex-determination hierarchy (SDH) in Drosophila melanogaster. The fruitless (fru) gene, one of the regulatory factors functioning downstream of other SDH factors, plays a prominent role in male sexual behavior. Here we demonstrate that fru mutations cause a previously unappreciated behavioral anomaly: high levels of head-to-head interactions between mutant males. These apparent confrontations between males are exhibited by all of the homozygous-viable fru mutants (expressing the effects of a given allele, among the four tested). Mutant dissatisfaction (dsf) males also exhibit this behavior at higher-than-normal levels, but it was barely displayed by doublesex or intersex mutants. For fru, a social component is involved in the head-interaction phenotype, while increasing age is a modifying factor for the behavior of dsf males. We suggest that head-to-head interactions, especially those performed by fru males, are instances of putative aggression analogous to those exhibited by wild-type males and that head interactions are, to an extent, operationally separable from courtship behavior.

Aggression↗
PubMed2004

Male-specific expression of the fruitless protein is not common to all Drosophila species.

Sex-specific behavioral patterns must be a result of sexual differences in the structure and/or function of the central nervous system (CNS). Male Drosophila melanogaster mutants for the fruitless (fru) locus exhibit enhanced male-to-male courtship. The fru mutant males are accompanied by malformation of the male-specific muscle of Lawrence (MOL), which, in wild-type males, is induced by male motoneurons innervating it. These two phenotypes are the consequences of impaired sex determination of CNS neurons. In D. melanogaster, although the fru mRNAs are transcribed in the CNS of both the male and female, the Fru protein is only translated in the male CNS. This male-specific translation of Fru was also observed in D. simulans, D. yakuba, D. pseudoobscura and D. virilis; however, in D. suzukii, the Fru protein expression was detected even in the female CNS.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Why there is a one-way crossability between D. melanogaster and D. simulans? An ontogenic explanation.

In the Drosophila melanogaster complex, females D. melanogaster mate relatively easily with males Drosophila simulans but the reciprocal cross is rare. The species sexual isolation is mainly based on chemical and acoustic signal exchanges between partners. The male side of this communication is investigated in this paper in order to understand the asymmetry. In D. melanogaster the acoustic signature is highly significant, and is synergistically reinforced by the chemical signal. In D. simulans the importance of the two signaling channels seems to be reversed. This could explain why D. simulans males produce less precise interpulse interval (IPI) mean value in the courtship song, which can readily overlap those of D. melanogaster. As the males of the two species use the same chemical key, D. simulans males could be recognized by D. melanogaster females as a conspecific.

Alkenes↗
PubMed2004

Size dependent sexual selection in Drosophila ananassae.

Mate choice based on body size is widespread and can have numerous consequences. We present data, which show the effect of male and female body size on sexual selection in Drosophila ananassae. The relationships between wing size, locomotor activity, mating latency, courtship pattern, fertility and mating success were studied. Mating latency was negatively correlated with wing length and with locomotor activity, while wing length and locomotor activity was positively correlated in males as well as in females. In female- and male-choice, we found that mate choice influenced size-assortative mating by: (1) large and small males preferring to mate with large females, (2) large males successfully competing for large females, leaving small males to mate with small females. Males increased their reproductive success by mating with large and more fecund females. In addition, in pairs of long/short winged flies, long winged flies courted and mated more successfully than short winged flies and they also have longer duration of copulation and more progeny than short winged flies. We found sterile mating in pairs of small winged males and females.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Male sex pheromonal components derived from methyl eugenol in the hemolymph of the fruit fly Bactrocera papayae.

Pharmacophagy of methyl eugenol (ME)--a highly potent male attractant, by Bactrocera papayae results in the hydroxylation of ME to sex pheromonal components, 2-ally-4,5-dimethoxyphenol (DMP) and (E)-coniferyl alcohol (CF). These compounds, which are also male attractants, are then sequestered and stored in the rectal gland prior to their release during courtship at dusk. Chemical analyses of the digestive tract (excluding the crop and rectal gland) showed the absence of the sex pheromonal components and their precursor, ME. However, B. papayae males were attracted to and fed on the ME-fed male hemolymph extracts but not on hemolymph extracts of ME-deprived males. After thin layer chromatography in a hexane:ethyl acetate solvent system, flies were attracted to and fed on the original point on the TLC plate where the hemolymph extract had been spotted, suggesting that the pheromone components were bound in polar complexes. Chemical analyses of the ME-fed male hemolymph and crop extracts revealed the presence of the sex pheromonal components. The presence of the ME-derived pheromonal components and the absence of ME in the hemolymph suggest that the hemolymph is involved in the transportation of sex pheromonal components from the crop to the rectal gland.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The regulation of motile activity in fish chromatophores.

Chromatophores, including melanophores, xanthophores, erythrophores, leucophores and iridophores, are responsible for the revelation of integumentary coloration in fish. Recently, blue chromatophores, also called cyanophores, were added to the list of chromatophores. Many of them are also known to possess cellular motility, by which fish are able to change their integumentary hues and patterns, thus enabling them to execute remarkable or subtle chromatic adaptation to environmental hues and patterns, and to cope with various ethological encounters. Such physiological color changes are indeed crucial for them to survive, either by protecting themselves from predators or by increasing their chances of feeding. Sometimes, they are also useful in courtship and mutual communications among individuals of the same species, leading to an increased rate of species survival. Such strategies are realized by complex mechanisms existing in the endocrine and/or nervous systems. Current studies further indicate that some paracrine factors such as endothelins (ETs) are involved in these processes. In this review, the elaborate mechanisms regulating chromatophores in these lovely aquatic animals are described.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Lateralization of a sexually dimorphic brain area associated with steroid-sensitive behavior in the male gerbil.

Emission rates of an androgen-sensitive male courtship vocalization were positively correlated with the volume of only the left hypothalamic sexually dimorphic area, pars compacta (SDApc) nucleus in sexually active male Mongolian gerbils. The asymmetric relationship between brain nucleus and vocal behavior was confirmed in testosterone (T)-treated castrated adult males but was eliminated by castration of males and did not exist in T-treated ovariectomized adult females. Interdependence between the left SDApc volume and emission rate was specific because no significant correlations were found between (a) nonvocal precopulatory or copulatory behaviors and left or right SDApc volumes and (b) a second sexually dimorphic brain area, the suprachiasmatic nucleus and vocal or other behavioral components. The asymmetric brain-behavior relationship depends on T effects in adult males and may be lateralized by perinatal T exposure.

Androgens↗
PubMed2005

A new model for sexual conditioning: the ring dove (Streptopelia risoria).

Sexual conditioning investigations have primarily used rats and domestic quail as subjects. Although much has been learned from such experiments, the relative simplicity of rat and quail reproductive behavior prohibits investigation of certain experimental questions about sexual conditioning. In contrast, the reproductive behavior of male and female ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) is complex, involving courtship, bonding, and parental care. In the present experiment, male ring doves that were presented with a visual conditioned stimulus paired with access to their pair-bonded mate (the unconditioned stimulus) showed sexual conditioned responding in the presence of the conditioned stimulus. These results represent the first evidence of sexual conditioning in ring doves and illustrate the potential of ring doves as a useful model for future sexual conditioning investigations.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Avoidance of relatively aggressive male Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica) by sexually experienced conspecific females.

Sexually experienced female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) that are offered a choice between 2 conspecific males previously observed engaging in an aggressive encounter prefer to affiliate with the less aggressive male. The authors determined whether this apparent preference for less aggressive males results from females approaching less aggressive individuals or avoiding more aggressive individuals. The authors found that females that had seen 2 males fight before choosing, in counterbalanced order, between each of them and a neutral stimulus were indifferent to less aggressive males but avoided more aggressive males. The results are consistent with the view that in species in which male courtship and mating are potentially harmful to females, females keep away from relatively aggressive males in order to avoid the physical punishment that can result from contact with them.

Aggression↗
PubMed2005

Female Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) mated with males that harassed them are unlikely to lay fertilized eggs.

Results of previous studies of courtship and mating in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) suggest that females avoid conspecific males because, while courting and mating, males engage in behaviors that are potentially injurious to females. However, prior experiments provided no direct evidence that females avoided harassing males. Here the authors show that a female quail choosing between a previous sex partner and an unfamiliar male avoids the former if he engaged in relatively many potentially injurious acts while courting and mating, (Experiments 1 and 2) and that males behaving aggressively toward mates are less likely than are gentler males to fertilize the females' eggs (Experiment 3). Male sexual harassment appears to be a tactic both aversive to female quail and relatively ineffective in fertilizing them.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Sexual dimorphism in ultrasonic vocalizations of mice (Mus musculus): gonadal hormone regulation.

Male mice (Mus musculus), during courtship and sexual behavior, vocalize substantially more 70-kHz ultrasounds than do females. Four experiments demonstrated that testosterone propionate (TP) substantially increased ultrasonic emissions and mounting by ovariectomized females and the long-term gonadectomized males and females increased their amount of ultrasound production in response to TP to approximately the same levels. From these results it is suggested that the sexual dimorphism normally seen in ultrasonic vocalizations can be accounted for by the activational effects of androgen in adulthood.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Cultures in chimpanzees.

As an increasing number of field studies of chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) have achieved long-term status across Africa, differences in the behavioural repertoires described have become apparent that suggest there is significant cultural variation. Here we present a systematic synthesis of this information from the seven most long-term studies, which together have accumulated 151 years of chimpanzee observation. This comprehensive analysis reveals patterns of variation that are far more extensive than have previously been documented for any animal species except humans. We find that 39 different behaviour patterns, including tool usage, grooming and courtship behaviours, are customary or habitual in some communities but are absent in others where ecological explanations have been discounted. Among mammalian and avian species, cultural variation has previously been identified only for single behaviour patterns, such as the local dialects of song-birds. The extensive, multiple variations now documented for chimpanzees are thus without parallel. Moreover, the combined repertoire of these behaviour patterns in each chimpanzee community is itself highly distinctive, a phenomenon characteristic of human cultures but previously unrecognised in non-human species.

Animals↗