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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until August 16, 2026

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Analysis of Neural Components of the Circuit of Drosophila Mating Acceptance

Zhang, Kexin
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1718214905964993

Abstract Details

2024, Master of Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Biology.
Animals constantly find themselves in a situation where they need to make a choice. For example, to run or fight, hunt or sleep, mate or reject. The ability to make proper decisions ensures the survival and fitness of the organism. Despite its importance in everyday life, the exact molecular and neural mechanisms that generate decisions remain unclear. To uncover the components of the neural circuit that generates decisions, we used Drosophila female mating acceptance behavior as our model. In Drosophila, the male actively pursues the female, and the female makes the decision to either accept or reject males. In this thesis, we identified four novel genes involved in female acceptance behavior and uncovered their interactions in the olfactory lobe. The genes Bruno 3 (Bru3), nAChRα6, nAChRα7, and CG1677 (renamed here as dati switch, ditch) were found in a computational screening as targets of Datilografo (dati), a transcription factor required in cholinergic neurons for Drosophila females to accept males (Schinaman et al., 2014). Using behavioral tests in females expressing RNAi against these genes in female cholinergic neurons, we validated the requirement of these genes for female acceptance of courtship. Bru3 encodes a translational repressor and generated the strongest courtship rejection response in knockdown females compared to the other genes. We hypothesized that the knockdown of Bru3 would disrupt the expression nAChRα6, nAChRα7, and ditch. Our results show that Bru3 regulates the expression levels of ditch and the distribution of nAChRα6 density clusters in the antennal lobe. Our study advances our knowledge on Drosophila female decision-making by identifying novel molecular components and their interaction mechanisms required for the proper functioning of the neural circuit responsible for this behavior.
Claudia Mizutani (Advisor)
Rui Sousa-Neves (Committee Member)
Stephen Haynesworth (Committee Chair)
Angela Dixon (Committee Member)
Nicole Crown (Committee Member)
47 p.
Biology; Genetics; Neurosciences
Decision-making; Drosophila female mating acceptance; Neural circuit

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Zhang, K. (2024). Analysis of Neural Components of the Circuit of Drosophila Mating Acceptance [Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1718214905964993

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Zhang, Kexin. Analysis of Neural Components of the Circuit of Drosophila Mating Acceptance. 2024. Case Western Reserve University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1718214905964993.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Zhang, Kexin. "Analysis of Neural Components of the Circuit of Drosophila Mating Acceptance." Master's thesis, Case Western Reserve University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1718214905964993

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

case1718214905964993
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies and OhioLINK.