| Budget Amount *help |
¥5,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2014: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
Fiscal Year 2013: ¥2,080,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥480,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The Drosophila fruitless (fru) gene is regarded as a master regulator of the formation of male courtship circuitry, yet little is known about its molecular basis of action. Fru proteins are expressed in a small population (~2%) of neurons of the brains in males, but not females. In this study, we showed the following: (1) Fru binds to the promoter of robo1, an axon guidance-regulating gene, and represses the expression of robo1, (2) Robo1 suppresses formation of the male-specific neurite in sexually-dimorphic mAL interneurons in females, and (3) small deletions in the Fru-binding site of robo1 promoter induce a loss of the male-specific neurite and disrupt male courtship patterns. This study paves the way for a thorough understanding of the mechanism whereby Fru proteins orchestrate transcription for the formation of courtship circuitry.
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