Yapici Nilay, Kim Young-Joon, Ribeiro Carlos, Dickson Barry J
Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Dr. Bohr-Gasse 7, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
Nature. 2008 Jan 3;451(7174):33-7. doi: 10.1038/nature06483.
Mating in many species induces a dramatic switch in female reproductive behaviour. In most insects, this switch is triggered by factors present in the male's seminal fluid. How these factors exert such profound effects in females is unknown. Here we identify a receptor for the Drosophila melanogaster sex peptide (SP, also known as Acp70A), the primary trigger of post-mating responses in this species. Females that lack the sex peptide receptor (SPR, also known as CG16752), either entirely or only in the nervous system, fail to respond to SP and continue to show virgin behaviours even after mating. SPR is expressed in the female's reproductive tract and central nervous system. The behavioural functions of SPR map to the subset of neurons that also express the fruitless gene, a key determinant of sex-specific reproductive behaviour. SPR is highly conserved across insects, opening up the prospect of new strategies to control the reproductive and host-seeking behaviours of agricultural pests and human disease vectors.
许多物种中的交配会引发雌性生殖行为的巨大转变。在大多数昆虫中，这种转变是由雄性精液中的因子触发的。这些因子如何在雌性体内产生如此深远的影响尚不清楚。在这里，我们鉴定出了黑腹果蝇性肽（SP，也称为Acp70A）的一种受体，该性肽是该物种交配后反应的主要触发因素。完全缺乏或仅在神经系统中缺乏性肽受体（SPR，也称为CG16752）的雌性，即使在交配后也无法对SP作出反应，并继续表现出未交配时的行为。SPR在雌性的生殖道和中枢神经系统中表达。SPR的行为功能映射到那些也表达无果基因的神经元子集，无果基因是性别特异性生殖行为的关键决定因素。SPR在昆虫中高度保守，这为控制农业害虫和人类疾病传播媒介的生殖及寻找宿主行为开辟了新策略的前景。
