The peacefulness gene promotes aggression in Drosophila

Abstract

Natural aggressiveness is commonly observed in all animal species, and is displayed frequently when animals compete for food, territory and mating. Aggression is an innate behaviour, and is influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. However, the genetics of aggression remains largely unclear. In this study, we identify the peacefulness (pfs) gene as a novel player in the control of male-male aggression in Drosophila. Mutations in pfs decreased intermale aggressiveness, but did not affect locomotor activity, olfactory avoidance response and sexual behaviours. pfs encodes for the evolutionarily conserved molybdenum cofactor (MoCo) synthesis 1 protein (Mocs1), which catalyzes the first step in the MoCo biosynthesis pathway. Neuronal-specific knockdown of pfs decreased aggressiveness. By contrast, overexpression of pfs greatly increased aggressiveness. Knocking down Cinnamon (Cin) catalyzing the final step in the MoCo synthesis pathway, caused a pfs-like aggression phenotype. In humans, inhibition of MoCo-dependent enzymes displays anti-aggressive effects. Thus, the control of aggression by Pfs-dependent MoCo pathways may be conserved throughout evolution.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13041-018-0417-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The evolution of sex-biased gene expression in theDrosophilabrain

“…whose expression is likely evolving under directional selection) include the X-linked gene cinnamon (FBgn0000316, ratio_male = 86.15, ratio_female = 302.26). Cinnamon , which is involved in the biosynthesis of the molybdenum cofactor and inter-male aggression (Kamdar et al 1994; Ramin et al 2019), has changed sex-bias in its recent evolutionary history: it has female-biased expression in both D. melanogaster and D. simulans and male-biased expression in D. yakuba .…”

Sleep in Drosophila and Its Context

“…From a mechanistic perspective, external factors could differentially affect levels of oxidative stress. It is well documented, for example, that caloric restriction (Ungvari et al, 2008) and even social interaction (Ruan and Wu, 2008) can reduce accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) whereas aggressive encounters may promote ROS production (Ramin et al, 2019). A recent and emerging concept in the Drosophila sleep field is that sleep is affected by levels of oxidative stress, and sleep deprivation can accelerate accumulation of ROS (Hill et al, 2018; Kempf et al, 2019).…”

Perinatal SSRI exposure affects brain functional activity associated with whisker stimulation in adolescent and adult rats

“…The integration of sensory input and the integration of this input with memory processes is key to our fitness and known to develop well into adulthood 64 . Exposure to serotonin altering medication during development has been related to differences in neuronal and behavioural levels 16 – 28 . In this study we found brain-wide differences in functional activity during adolescence and adulthood as a consequence of perinatal SSRI exposure.…”

“…Rodent models fill this gap, giving us the opportunity to closely investigate the consequences of developmental SSRI exposure. These preclinical studies have suggested differences in social behaviour, learning and memory, anxiety and sensory functions, alterations in neuronal organization, differences in hippocampal neurogenesis and epigenetic changes after SSRI exposure during pregnancy and the early postnatal phase 16 – 28 .…”