Genetics and neurobiology of aggression in Drosophila

Zwarts, Liesbeth; Versteven, Marijke; Callaerts, Patrick

doi:10.4161/fly.19249

Cited by 70 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 147 publications

(290 reference statements)

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“…During courtship, male flies emit songs via wing vibrations, tap and lick (Yamamoto and Koganezawa, 2013). The presence of females may also incite aggression among males, causing them to posture, lunge and box (Zwarts et al, 2012). Therefore, it is likely that courting or fighting males would transiently become tightly linked with courted females or sparring partners in mixed-sex SINs.…”

Section: As Simple As Possible But Not Simplermentioning

confidence: 99%

The neurogenetics of group behavior inDrosophila melanogaster

Ramdya

Schneider

Levine

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Organisms rarely act in isolation. Their decisions and movements are often heavily influenced by direct and indirect interactions with conspecifics. For example, we each represent a single node within a social network of family and friends, and an even larger network of strangers. This group membership can affect our opinions and actions. Similarly, when in a crowd, we often coordinate our movements with others like fish in a school, or birds in a flock. Contributions of the group to individual behaviors are observed across a wide variety of taxa but their biological mechanisms remain largely unknown. With the advent of powerful computational tools as well as the unparalleled genetic accessibility and surprisingly rich social life of Drosophila melanogaster, researchers now have a unique opportunity to investigate molecular and neuronal determinants of group behavior. Conserved mechanisms and/or selective pressures in D. melanogaster can likely inform a much wider phylogenetic scale. Here, we highlight two examples to illustrate how quantitative and genetic tools can be combined to uncover mechanisms of two group behaviors in D. melanogaster: social network formation and collective behavior. Lastly, we discuss future challenges towards a full understanding how coordinated brain activity across many individuals gives rise to the behavioral patterns of animal societies.

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Section: As Simple As Possible But Not Simplermentioning

confidence: 99%

The neurogenetics of group behavior inDrosophila melanogaster

Ramdya

Schneider

Levine

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…In invertebrates, serotonin (5HT), nitric oxide (NO) and selected peptides affect the tendency to flee, avoiding further contests 10,42 . To date, relatively few model systems have been developed to shed light on how previous experience modifies aggressive behaviour in arthropods, mainly crickets 26 , drosophilid flies 43 and ants 28 (see also recent reviews 4,9,22,44 ). We propose a new model system, the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae).…”

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confidence: 99%

Contest experience enhances aggressive behaviour in a fly: when losers learn to win

Benelli

Desneux

Romano

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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In several animal species, aggressive experience influences the characteristics and outcomes of subsequent conflicts, such that winners are more likely to win again (the winner effect) and losers more likely to lose again (the loser effect). We tested the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae), as a model system to evaluate the role of the winner and loser effects in male-male territorial contests. Further, we conducted experiments to test if winning and losing probabilities are affected only by the outcome of the previous contests, or whether the fighting experience itself is sufficient to induce an effect. Both winners and losers of two consecutive encounters displayed higher intensity of aggression and fought longer in subsequent contests. In both cases, they achieved higher fighting success than naïve males. The enhanced fighting performance of both winners and losers was stimulated by merely experiencing a contest, not necessarily by the relative outcome of previous fights. Overall, this study highlights the fact that previous victories and defeats both enhance aggressive behaviour in olive fruit flies, allowing them to achieve higher fighting success in subsequent contests against inexperienced males.A ggressive behaviour is widespread throughout the animal kingdom 1,2 . Aggression is a highly flexible behaviour affected by a large number of factors, and is important to ensure survival and reproduction in many species 3 . The evolution of aggression is shaped by a trade-off between the resultant benefits (i.e., securing limited resources) vs. costs (i.e., risk of injury; loss of time and energy), optimising fitness outcomes 4,5 . Aggressive behaviour can be severe between individuals of the same species, as they compete for the same food, territory, and access to mates 6 . Game theory predicts that Evolutionarily Stable Strategies for conflicts between conspecifics may involve stereotyped contests characterized by the ritualised exchange of agonistic signals 7 , which are thought to convey increasingly accurate information for assessing the contenders' chances of winning [8][9][10][11] . Probability of winning can depend on physical disparities (e.g. size, strength, weaponry) 12-15 as well as on aggressive motivation 16 . The latter is a product of several factors, including the presence of resources 17-21 , social upbringing 22 , physical exertion 23 and experience in previous fights [24][25][26] . Learning in the context of aggressive behaviour is widely recognised in animals 4,27,28 , and it has been shown that previous contest experience affects the characteristics and outcomes of contests in many species 4,26 . It is generally acknowledged that behavioural changes during combat that relate to prior experience fall into two general categories. Losing experiences tend to decrease willingness to engage in a contest (i.e. the loser effect), while winning experiences tend to increase willingness to escalate a contest (i.e. the winner effect) 4 . In other words, individuals experiencing a ...

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“…A Wolbachia strain has been shown previously to disrupt the biosynthesis of insect neurotransmitters (35). Drosophila male aggression is highly influenced by the monoamine neurotransmitter octopamine (43). Alterations to OCT have been shown to reduce aggressive latency in male Drosophila (49).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All fighting pairs had the same Wolbachia infection status, i.e., between infected or uninfected pairs. Studies have found that socially naive flies are more aggressive than individuals exposed to other flies (43); therefore, male pupae were isolated before eclosion. Twenty pairs of wMelCS-, wMel-, and wMelPop-infected males and their genetically paired Wolbachia-free lines (n ϭ 20; 40 males per fly line, for a total of 240 males) were collected as pupae 1 day prior to eclosion and isolated in individual vials containing standard food medium for the remainder of their rearing period.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wolbachia Influences the Production of Octopamine and Affects Drosophila Male Aggression

Rohrscheib

Bondy

Josh

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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f Wolbachia bacteria are endosymbionts that infect approximately 40% of all insect species and are best known for their ability to manipulate host reproductive systems. Though the effect Wolbachia infection has on somatic tissues is less well understood, when present in cells of the adult Drosophila melanogaster brain, Wolbachia exerts an influence over behaviors related to olfaction. Here, we show that a strain of Wolbachia influences male aggression in flies, which is critically important in mate competition. A specific strain of Wolbachia was observed to reduce the initiation of aggressive encounters in Drosophila males compared to the behavior of their uninfected controls. To determine how Wolbachia was able to alter aggressive behavior, we investigated the role of octopamine, a neurotransmitter known to influence male aggressive behavior in many insect species. Transcriptional analysis of the octopamine biosynthesis pathway revealed that two essential genes, the tyrosine decarboxylase and tyramine ␤-hydroxylase genes, were significantly downregulated in Wolbachia-infected flies. Quantitative chemical analysis also showed that total octopamine levels were significantly reduced in the adult heads. Male aggression is an important social behavior common throughout the animal kingdom. Aggressive behaviors are utilized to secure food, mates, and territory; these, in turn, ensure reproductive success and species propagation (1). An interplay between environmental influences, together with epigenetic and genetic factors (acting through neurotransmitters, hormones, and pheromones), shapes and influences behaviors in animals (2-6). Recently, evidence of the importance of microbial symbionts in directly manipulating host behavior, often by altering neurotransmitter levels in the brain (7-11), has changed the manner in which behavior is viewed. Inherited microbes exert such a strong effect that they, in addition to genetics/epigenetics and the surrounding environment, have been described as a third major determinant of behaviors (12).Wolbachia bacteria are reproductive endosymbiotic alphaproteobacteria and are the most common intracellular bacteria on Earth, infecting filarial nematodes, arachnids, and at least 40% of all insect species, including the model insect, Drosophila melanogaster (13-16). Wolbachia bacteria are maternally transmitted and are best known for their ability to manipulate host sex determination or reproductive systems in order to promote germ line transmission (17, 18). Wolbachia bacteria have also been shown to influence host metabolic pathways (19-21), provide protection from pathogens (22, 23), influence host life span (24), and play a role in host speciation events (25).Wolbachia infections have been correlated to changes in behaviors, including male mating frequencies (11), mate discrimination (26), and responses to olfactory cues (27)(28)(29). Wolbachia can also induce host selective mate avoidance, i.e., causing the host to avoid mates harboring another, incompatible symbiont variant, which ...

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Genetics and neurobiology of aggression in Drosophila

Cited by 70 publications

References 147 publications

The neurogenetics of group behavior inDrosophila melanogaster

The neurogenetics of group behavior inDrosophila melanogaster

Contest experience enhances aggressive behaviour in a fly: when losers learn to win

Wolbachia Influences the Production of Octopamine and Affects Drosophila Male Aggression

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