Figure 4. Activation of fru P1 ∩ dpr/DIP intersecting neurons results in atypical courtship behaviors.

Courtship behaviors of dpr/DIP-Gal4/ UAS > stop > TrpA1; fru P1^FLP males were recorded at the control temperature (20°C, blue box plots) and the activating temperature for TrpA1 (32°C, red box plots). The control genotypes are the wild-type strain Canton S, and the UAS > stop > TrpA1 and fru P1^FLP single transgenes, which were crossed to Canton S. Virgin Canton S (white) females were used as targets. (A) Following index is the fraction of time the male spent oriented toward or chasing the female around the chamber. (B) Wing extension index is the fraction of time the male spent unilaterally extending and vibrating his wing. (C) Double wing extension index is the fraction of time the male spent extending and vibrating both wings simultaneously. (D) Abdominal bending index is the fraction of time the male spent curling his abdomen under. A movie is provided to show a male with atypical abdominal bending (fru P1 ∩ dpr1 genotype; Figure 4—video 1). The lines on the quantile box plot correspond to the quantiles in the distribution output, with the center line as the median. The whiskers extend from the 1st and 3rd quartiles to the edges, which correspond to the minimum and maximum values, excluding outliers. The nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to test for significant difference between control and activating temperature within each genotype. n = 15. *p<0.05, **p<0.005, ***p<0.0005. All lines were examined for expression of TrpA1 to confirm the system was working effectively (data not shown).

Figure 4—video 1. A movie showing a male that has atypical abdominal bending when fru P1 ∩ dpr1 neurons are activated by TrpA1.

Download video file ^{(3.2MB, mp4)}

Initially, the male shows wild type courtship phenotypes, but as the temperature increases and neuronal activation occurs, the male shows atypical abdominal bending, where he bends for a long amount of time, even after the female has moved away.