Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Department of Statistics & Data Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2023 Jan 31;120(5):e2214883120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2214883120. Epub 2023 Jan 27.
Sex peptide (SP), a seminal fluid protein of males, has been described as driving a virgin-to-mated switch in females, through eliciting an array of responses including increased egg laying, activity, and food intake and a decreased remating rate. While it is known that SP achieves this, at least in part, by altering neuronal signaling in females, the genetic architecture and temporal dynamics of the female's response to SP remain elusive. We used a high-resolution time series RNA-sequencing dataset of female heads at 10 time points within the first 24 h after mating to learn about the genetic architecture, at the gene and exon levels, of the female's response to SP. We find that SP is not essential to trigger early aspects of a virgin-to-mated transcriptional switch, which includes changes in a metabolic gene regulatory network. However, SP is needed to maintain and diversify metabolic changes and to trigger changes in a neuronal gene regulatory network. We further find that SP alters rhythmic gene expression in females and suggests that SP's disruption of the female's circadian rhythm might be key to its widespread effects.
性肽（SP）是雄性精液中的一种蛋白质，被描述为通过引发一系列反应，包括增加产卵、活动和食物摄入，以及降低再交配率，从而使处女雌性转变为交配后的状态。虽然已知 SP 通过改变雌性的神经元信号来实现这一点，但 SP 对雌性的反应的遗传结构和时间动态仍然难以捉摸。我们使用了一个在交配后 24 小时内的 10 个时间点对雌性头部进行高分辨率时间序列 RNA 测序数据集，以了解 SP 对雌性反应的遗传结构，包括基因和外显子水平。我们发现 SP 并不是触发处女到交配转录开关早期阶段的必要条件，而这一阶段包括代谢基因调控网络的变化。然而，SP 是维持和多样化代谢变化以及触发神经元基因调控网络变化所必需的。我们进一步发现，SP 改变了雌性的节律基因表达，并表明 SP 对雌性昼夜节律的破坏可能是其广泛影响的关键。
