Figure 7.

Targeted RNAi knockdown of ppk25 in gustatory neurons blocks male courtship behavior. A, Gustatory expression of ppk25 RNAi¹ using the Poxn-Gal4 driver (Boll and Noll, 2002) reduces both CI and the fraction of initiating males. Control males expressed either eGFP, or a control RNAi against CG13895, a gene with no known involvement in mating behavior (Benchabane et al., 2011), in the same pattern. **p < 0.01. B, Gustatory expression of a second RNAi transgene, ppk25 RNAi², using the Poxn-Gal4 driver reduces both CI and the fraction of initiating males. This experiment was performed at 27°C because preliminary tests at 25°C resulted in effects that were not statistically significant at p < 0.05 (data not shown). **p < 0.05; ***p < 0.001. C, As in A, except for the use of Gr5a-Gal4 to drive expression in sucrose-sensing neurons of the labelum and legs (Chyb et al., 2003). Expression of ppk25 RNAi¹ in those neurons does not result in any significant effect on male courtship.