Project Summary
Mating is essential for procreation, and it profoundly affects animals’ physiology, behavior, and wellbeing,
particularly in females. Associating mating experience with a valence––either appetitive for a positive stimulus,
or aversive for negative––allows females to adjust their mating strategy and exhibit appropriate behavioral
responses in subsequent encounters. Yet, the molecular and cellular substrates that assign, store, retrieve, and
update mating valence in females are largely unknown.
I will interrogate how the valence of sexual stimuli is assigned and expressed using the fruit fly, Drosophila
melanogaster, as a model system. I have identified a neural pathway (PLM pathway) that conveys the
mechanosensation of copulation to the brain, where Myoinhibitory peptide is released upon copulation.
Intriguingly, the PLM pathway is required for to develop wild-type valence for mating; thus, the PLM pathway
provides a superb entry point to explore how mating valence is formed and maintained. We have generated and
amassed an unparalleled collection of genetic tools to visualize and manipulate these neurons, and I have
established novel behavioral paradigms to evaluate mating valence in female Drosophila.
In the proposed study, I aim to delineate the molecular and cellular substrates that underlie the generation
and expression of mating valence in female. I will also explore how an orthogonal experience––social
experience––regulates females’ mating valence. To achieve these goals, I will carry out three complementary
projects that exploit multidisciplinary approaches and cutting-edge tools in molecular genetics, anatomy,
physiology, and behavior. First, we will determine the molecular and cellular pathways that link PLM neurons
with the fly’s primary learning centers, where valence is assigned. Next, by exploiting candidate genes identified
in transcriptome comparison in virgin and mated females, I will elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms
that underlie the dramatic morphological changes of PLM pathway neurons that likely alter female mating latency.
Finally, I will identify genes in the fly’s stress-response pathway that convey pathological social exposure to
modulate females’ mating behavior. Together, these results will substantially advance our understanding of the
molecular and neural pathways that underpin the generation and regulation of females’ mating valence.