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Neurobiology of Egg-laying Behavior in Drosophila: Neural Control of the Female Reproductive System
Version 1
: Received: 15 June 2023 / Approved: 16 June 2023 / Online: 16 June 2023 (08:57:39 CEST)
Version 2 : Received: 26 February 2024 / Approved: 27 February 2024 / Online: 27 February 2024 (09:30:10 CET)
Version 2 : Received: 26 February 2024 / Approved: 27 February 2024 / Online: 27 February 2024 (09:30:10 CET)
How to cite: Afkhami, M. Neurobiology of Egg-laying Behavior in Drosophila: Neural Control of the Female Reproductive System. Preprints 2023, 2023061191. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202306.1191.v2 Afkhami, M. Neurobiology of Egg-laying Behavior in Drosophila: Neural Control of the Female Reproductive System. Preprints 2023, 2023061191. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202306.1191.v2
Abstract
Egg-laying is one of the key aspects of female reproductive behavior in insects. Egg-laying has been studied since the dawn of Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism. The female’s internal state, hormones, and external factors, such as nutrition, light, and social environment, affect egg-laying output. However, only recently, neurobiological features of egg-laying behavior have been studied in detail. Fruitless and doublesex, two key players in the sex determination pathway, have become focal points in identifying neurons of reproductive significance in both central and peripheral nervous systems. The reproductive tract and external terminalia house sensory neurons that carry the sensory information of egg maturation, mating and egg-laying. These se include the presence of male accessory gland products and mechanical stimuli. The abdominal neuromere houses neurons that receive information from the reproductive tract, including sex peptide abdominal ganglion neurons (SAGs), and send their information to the brain. In the brain, neuronal groups like aDNs and pC1clusters modulate egg-laying decision-making, and other neurons like oviINs and oviDNs are necessary for egg-laying itself. Lastly, motor neurons involved in egg-laying, which are mostly octopaminergic, reside in the abdominal neuromere and orchestrate the muscle movements required for laying the egg. Egg-laying neuronal control is important in various evolutionary processes like cryptic female choice, and using different Drosophila species can provide intriguing avenues for the future of the field.
Keywords
reproduction; egg‐laying; cryptic female choice; Drosophila; sensory neurons
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Neuroscience and Neurology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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