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Myc suppresses male-male courtship in Drosophila.

Yu PanWanzhen LiZhu DengYihao SunXianjue MaRuijuan LiangXiaowei GuoYing SunWenzhe LiRenjie JiaoLei Xue
Published in: The EMBO journal (2022)
Despite strong natural selection on species, same-sex sexual attraction is widespread across animals, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we report that the proto-oncogene Myc is required in dopaminergic neurons to inhibit Drosophila male-male courtship. Loss of Myc, either by mutation or neuro-specific knockdown, induced males' courtship propensity toward other males. Our genetic screen identified DOPA decarboxylase (Ddc) as a downstream target of Myc. While loss of Ddc abrogated Myc depletion-induced male-male courtship, Ddc overexpression sufficed to trigger such behavior. Furthermore, Myc-depleted males exhibited elevated dopamine level in a Ddc-dependent manner, and their male-male courtship was blocked by depleting the dopamine receptor DopR1. Moreover, Myc directly inhibits Ddc transcription by binding to a target site in the Ddc promoter, and deletion of this site by genome editing was sufficient to trigger male-male courtship. Finally, drug-mediated Myc depletion in adult neurons by GeneSwitch technique sufficed to elicit male-male courtship. Thus, this study uncovered a novel function of Myc in preventing Drosophila male-male courtship, and supports the crucial roles of genetic factors in inter-male sexual behavior.
Keyphrases
  • transcription factor
  • genome editing
  • spinal cord
  • mental health
  • dna methylation
  • genome wide
  • copy number
  • drug induced
  • genetic diversity