14 DAY TRIAL // A new research carried out by the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University in College Station, concluded that being around the opposite sex activates certain genes in Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), and cause them to adopt certain courtship behaviors.
This is a huge step toward a better understanding of the human mating behavior, and the first one that proves that certain genes get activated in fruit flies, whenever they interact with the opposite sex.
To get to this conclusion, the Texas scientists had to compare the gene expression profiles of males that courted females, males that interacted with other males and of males that did not interact with other flies.
The analysis showed that there is a common set of genes that respond to the presence of either sex, but there are also genes that are only affected by the presence of members of a particular sex, male of female.
After carrying out more tests of mutant flies, that lacked some of these socially responsive genes the researchers confirmed that these particular genes are very important for behavior.
They even predicted that further analysis of similar genes could give more insight into genes and neural signaling pathways that influence reproductive and other behavioral interactions.
The bottom line of this research is that courtship behaviors could be far more influenced by genetics than previously thought.
Also, if we have better knowledge about the way that these genes get activated within social contexts, this could lead to insight into disorders like autism.
Ginger E. Carney, PhD, co-author of the research study from the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University in College Station, said the you should “be careful who you interact with.
“The choice may affect your physiology, behavior and health in unexpected ways.”
Mark Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of the journal GENETICS, added that this “study shows that we're closing in on the complex genetic machinery that affects social interactions.
“Once similar genes are identified in humans, the implications will be enormous, as it could bring new understanding of, and perhaps even treatments for, a vast range of disorders related to social behavior.”
The study was published in the January 2011 issue of the journal GENETICS.