Insertion at -1691bp relative to the ATG site.
Mutant desat11573-1 males show no significant difference in their courtship of males compared to females, indicating a loss of sex discrimination.
Mutant desat11573-1 males selected for their ability to discriminate between the sexes over 10 generations exhibit a preference for wild-type females over desat11573-1 mutant females. Mutant desat11573-1 males selected for their inability to discriminate between the sexes over 10 generations exhibit a preference for desat11573-1 mutant females over wild-type females. In contrast, the relatively high discrimination of male pheromones shown by unselected desat11573-1 males disappears in lines selected for either the ability or inability to discriminate between the sexes.
Mutant males show increased male-male courtship in red light.
Mutant males show an increase in the total amount of cuticular hydrocarbons compared to control males. They show a significant decrease in the relative proportion of desaturated cuticular hydrocarbons and a significant increase in the relative proportion of linear cuticular hydrocarbons compared to control males.
Mutant females show an increase in the total amount of cuticular hydrocarbons compared to control females. They show a significant decrease in the relative proportion of desaturated cuticular hydrocarbons and a significant increase in the relative proportion of linear cuticular hydrocarbons compared to control females.
Homozygous flies of both sexes have defective cuticular hydrocarbon (CH) profiles. Both sexes produce substantially smaller amounts of unsaturated CHs with one and two double bonds (monoenes and dienes); for example, in homozygous females, 7,11-dienes represent only 2.6% of the total CH profile, compared to 37.8% in control females, while in homozygous males, 7-monoenes represent only 5.6% of the total CH profile, compared to 52.4% in control males. Homozygous flies of both sexes have much higher levels of n-alkanes than control flies, with n-alkanes representing 60.5% of the total CH profile in females (compared to 11.1% in controls) and 67.7% of the total CH profile in males (compared to 17% in controls). The overall amount of CHs is highly increased in homozygous males (+176%) and females (+48%) compared to same-sex control flies. This increase is mainly caused by linear alkanes, not methyl-alkanes. Heterozygous mutant flies show only a moderate variation in the cuticular hydrocarbon (CH) profile ; the total amount of CHs is similar to that of controls, the percentage of alkenes is decreased by 20-30% and the percentage of alkanes is increased by the same proportion.
Mutant males and females have radically decreased proportions of unsaturated hydrocarbons on their cuticle compared to wild type. This includes a reduction in the main female pheromone (7,11-dienes) in the mutant females and the main male pheromone (7-tricosene) in the mutant males. The mutants have a higher proportion of saturated hydrocarbons on their cuticle compared to wild type, particularly n-pentacosane in mutant females and n-tricosane in mutant males.
Under red light conditions (in which flies are effectively blind), wild-type males indiscriminately court male and female mutant flies (whereas they clearly prefer courting female flies when presented with male and female control flies).
Under white light conditions, mutant males are able to discriminate between wild-type male and female flies, preferring to court with females. However, under red light conditions, the mutant males indiscriminately court wild-type male and female flies.
Desat11573-1 has abnormal courtship behavior phenotype, enhanceable by qtcd00941
Desat11573-1 has abnormal courtship behavior phenotype, suppressible by ShMB02366
Desat11573-1 is an enhancer of abnormal courtship behavior phenotype of qtcd00941
A ShMB02366 mutant background restores the ability to discriminate between the sexes in desat11573-1 mutants.
Double mutant desat11573-1 qtcd00941 males show significant sex discrimination ability, but in the opposite direction to normal discrimination: they spend more time courting target males than target females, and their courtship of females is much lower than in controls. These males show a decreased response to wild-type female pheromones and increased response to wild-type male pheromones.
The level of homosexual courtship of gbKG07905 males is reduced to wild-type levels when they are partnered with desat11573-1 males instead of with wild-type males.
