Article
Entomology
Ajay P. Giri, Brent D. Short, Jaime C. Pinero
Summary: This study investigated the responses of several moth species in apple orchards in eastern North America, finding that a commercial lure was attractive to two moth species and the addition of a compound enhanced its attractiveness to another moth species.
Article
Neurosciences
Xiaolu Wan, Peng Shen, Kai Shi, Jing Li, Fengming Wu, Chuan Zhou
Summary: Females increase aggression for mating opportunities and acquiring reproductive resources. Virgin female Drosophila exhibit high-frequency attacks towards mated females, which is regulated by the male-derived pheromone 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA). A neural circuit consisting of four orders of neurons mediates the cVA-induced aggression in Drosophila females, with the release of acetylcholine (ACh) by aSP-g neurons exciting pC1 neurons.
NEUROSCIENCE BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Eleanor Bath, Daisy Buzzoni, Toby Ralph, Stuart Wigby, Irem Sepil
Summary: Mating affects female behavior and physiology across a wide range of taxa, often induced by components of male ejaculate. Variation in male condition can lead to differences in the strength of responses males can stimulate in females, affecting fitness outcomes for both sexes.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Maria Abellan-Alvaro, Fernando Martinez-Garcia, Enrique Lanuza, Carmen Agustin-Pavon
Summary: Repeated testing affects aggression in postpartum mice, with dams showing escalated aggression and virgins showing no aggression. The medial amygdala plays a key role in the expression of escalated aggression induced by repeated testing.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Zorimar Vilella-Pacheco, Lisa D. Mitchem, Vincent A. Formica, Edmund D. Brodie
Summary: Females must choose among potential mates with different phenotypes in a variety of social contexts. Many male traits are inherent and unchanging, but others are labile to social context. Competition, for example, can cause physiological changes that reflect recent wins and losses that fluctuate throughout time. We may expect females to respond differently to males depending on the outcome of their most recent fight. In Bolitotherus cornutus (forked fungus beetles), males compete for access to females, but copulation requires female cooperation. In this study, we use behavioral trials to determine whether females use chemical cues to differentiate between males and whether the outcome of recent male competition alters female preference. We measured female association time with chemical cues of two size-matched males both before and after male-male competition. Females in our study preferred to associate with future losers before males interacted, but changed their preference for realized winners following male competitive interactions. Our study provides the first evidence of change in female preference based solely on the outcome of male-male competition.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Carmen Vives-Cases, Vanesa Perez-Martinez, Mcarmen Davo-Blanes, Miriam Sanchez-SanSegundo, Diana Gil-Gonzalez, Daniel G. Abietar, Francesca Sanchez-Martinez, Lluis Forcadell-Diez, Gloria Perez, Belen Sanz-Barbero
Summary: The research found that there are different factors associated with Dating Violence (DV) victimization among female and male adolescents, including socioeconomic circumstances, sexual orientation, and experiences related to violence. Factors such as migration status, foreign-born parents, prior experiences of violence, and machismo were found to increase the risk of DV. Future DV prevention programs should address social inequalities in DV risk and reinforce adolescents' abilities to identify social support sources and reject violence.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Danielle Edmunds, Stuart Wigby, Jennifer C. Perry
Summary: Research shows that prolonged periods of adult food deprivation lead to increased aggression among male fruit flies, despite the decrease in their body mass. This could be explained by the increased attraction to food resources due to food deprivation, resulting in heightened aggression. Therefore, an individual's nutritional experience plays a crucial role in influencing aggression.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Danielle Edmunds, Stuart Wigby, Jennifer C. Perry
Summary: Nutritional status during development can significantly impact aggressive behaviors in adult animals. Developmental diets with low resources may reduce adult aggression, but could also increase aggression due to enhanced motivation to compete for resources. These effects are mediated through both individual and social factors, highlighting the complex relationship between nutrition and aggression.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mari Aoki, Igor Gamayun, Amanda Wyatt, Ramona Grunewald, Martin Simon-Thomas, Stephan E. Philipp, Oliver Hummel, Stefan Wagenpfeil, Kathrin Kattler, Gilles Gasparoni, Jorn Walter, Sen Qiao, David R. Grattan, Ulrich Boehm
Summary: The integration between chemosensory cues detected in the nose and hormonal status is not fully understood. However, research on olfactory sensory neurons in mice reveals that the pituitary hormone prolactin can modulate responses to specific chemosensory cues, linking hormonal status with behavioral responses.
Article
Immunology
Eva M. Medina -Rodriguez, Kenner C. Rice, Richard S. Jope, Eleonore Beurel
Summary: This study found that chronic restraint stress induces depressive-like behaviors in mice, with both males and females showing similar behavioral changes. However, there are differences in the inflammatory response, changes in microglia, and Toll-like receptor 4 expression between male and female mice. Treatment with a Toll-like receptor 4 antagonist shows more effective anti-depressant-like effects in male mice than in females, and this effect is not mediated by the microbiome. These findings suggest the need to consider different mechanisms in potential sex-specific treatments for depression.
BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Seung Gee Lee, Dongyu Sun, Hongyu Miao, Zekun Wu, Changku Kang, Baraa Saad, Khoi-Nguyen Ha Nguyen, Adrian Guerra-Phalen, Dorothy Bui, Al-Hassan Abbas, Brian Trinh, Ashvent Malik, Mahdi Zeghal, Anne-Christine Auge, Md Ehteshamul Islam, Kyle Wong, Tiffany Stern, Elizabeth Lebedev, Thomas N. Sherratt, Woo Jae Kim
Summary: Males rely on a time investment strategy to maximize their reproductive success. Male fruit flies exhibit a shortened duration of mating when they are sexually experienced. This behavior, known as Shorter-Mating-Duration (SMD), requires specific sugar and pheromone receptors in male forelegs and midlegs. This study provides insights into the molecular and cellular basis of SMD and its adaptive behavioral plasticity in male flies.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Alvaro Mailhos, Damian Amaro Egea-Caparros, Cristina Guerrero Rodriguez, Mario Luzardo, Nansi Dilyanova Kiskimska, Francisco Martinez Sanchez
Summary: Animal vocalizations and human voices convey important information about the emitter, including biological quality and physical attributes. This study analyzed the acoustic attributes of male voices and their associations with physical formidability proxies. The results showed correlations between voice attributes and height, weight, and handgrip strength, but perceived physical strength and attractiveness from voices alone did not align with actual physical strength. This research contributes to the understanding of the role of human voices in conveying biological information.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Beatriz Yamada Costa, Luana Gasparini Santos, Priscila Marianno, Mariana Rae, Marina Gomes de Almeida, Malcon Carneiro de Brito, Rosangela Eichler, Rosana Camarini
Summary: Oxytocin and its analogue carbetocin are potential protective substances against drug addiction, particularly ethanol addiction. This study found that carbetocin effectively prevented ethanol-induced behavioral sensitization and reduced ethanol consumption.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Kelly L. Bailey, Mollie A. Bloomsmith, Vasiliki Michopoulos, Caren M. Remillard, Leigh Anna Young
Summary: The study found that alpha males in male groups who aggressed females during coalitionary events were more likely to be successfully integrated, while those who did not retaliate were not. Females from larger groups and older females were more likely to be involved in coalitionary aggression, while rank, family size and number of matrilines in the group did not play a role.
APPLIED ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Ira S. S. Rostevanov, Batya Betesh-Abay, Ahmad Nassar, Elina Rubin, Sarit Uzzan, Jacob Kaplanski, Linoy Biton, Abed N. N. Azab
Summary: This study aimed to examine the behavioral effects and inflammatory mediator levels of chronic MTK treatment in male and female rats. The results suggest that MTK may be associated with select beneficial behavioral outcomes and differentially affects male vs. female rats in respect to brain inflammatory mediators.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Tanja Bien, Elizabeth A. Hambleton, Klaus Dreisewerd, Jens Soltwisch
Summary: The Waminoa sp. acoel flatworms hosting Symbiodiniaceae and Amphidinium dinoflagellate algae provide an interesting model for symbiosis in marine environments. Through advanced imaging techniques, it was discovered that different sterol species play specific roles in the metabolism of Waminoa beyond simply serving as a source of energy, highlighting the value of this research for future spatially resolved analysis of sterols.
ANALYTICAL AND BIOANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Maria P. Fernandez, Clare C. C. Rittschof, Jimena A. A. Sierralta
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Alexander Potthoff, Olaf Minte, Klaus Dreisewerd, Jens Soltwisch
Summary: This study investigates the ionization mechanisms of postionization (PI) in MALDI-2 and conducts experiments using two lasers with different pulse durations. The results show that the ion signal intensity has a quadratic dependency on the pulse energy, and shorter pulses produce higher ion signal intensities due to higher photon density. Comparative measurements allow the determination of the excited state lifetime of the matrices used.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MASS SPECTROMETRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Antonin Bednarik, Vadym Prysiazhnyi, Dominika Bezdekova, Jens Soltwisch, Klaus Dreisewerd, Jan Preisler
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Christoph Bookmeyer, Ulrich Roehling, Klaus Dreisewerd, Jens Soltwisch
Summary: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) is a rapidly growing method in the life sciences. The study introduces a novel post-ionization scheme based on single-photon induced chemical ionization using pulsed RF-Kr lamps, which effectively improves the ionization efficiency for analytes. Through the interplay with chemical dopants, the signal of various lipid molecules from mammalian tissue sections was significantly boosted.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2022)
Article
Biology
J. L. Persons, L. Abhilash, A. J. Lopatkin, A. Roelofs, E. Bell, Maria P. Fernandez, Orie T. Shafer
Summary: The problem of entrainment in circadian biology is important. Drosophila has been a crucial model system in understanding the molecular and neural mechanisms of entrainment. However, there is still much to learn about the underlying molecular and physiological mechanisms. To address this, researchers have developed a MATLAB-based program called PHASE, which allows for the visualization and analysis of activity and sleep patterns, as well as the evaluation of behavioral anticipation of environmental transitions in fruit flies.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Xiaocui Wang, Jean-Christophe Billeter, Martine E. Maan
Summary: Heterogeneity in food resources is a major driver of local adaptation and speciation. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, shows different responses to different yeast species and maximizes different life-history traits on different yeast species, which may explain the limited extent of dietary specialization in fruit flies.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tanja Bien, Krischan Koerfer, Jan Schwenzfeier, Klaus Dreisewerd, Jens Soltwisch
Summary: Molecular analysis on the single-cell level is rapidly growing in the life sciences. This study presents a sensitive approach to single-cell mass spectrometry based on high-resolution imaging and optical microscopy. The multimodal datasets allow for statistical analysis and direct connection of MS data with microscopy information, providing insights into intracellular lipid distributions and subcellular molecular profiles.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Biology
Orie T. Shafer, Gabrielle J. Gutierrez, Kimberly Li, Amber Mildenhall, Daphna Spira, Jonathan Marty, Aurel A. Lazar, Maria de la Paz Fernandez
Summary: This study evaluates the synaptic connectivity of the Drosophila clock neuron network and identifies different synaptic connection types of lateral neurons and non-clock cells that play important roles in circadian timekeeping.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Philip Kohlmeier, Jean-Christophe Billeter
Summary: This review discusses the genetic mechanisms that regulate neuronal sensitivity and behavior, providing a comprehensive list of already identified genes and mechanisms that impact behavior through changes in neuronal sensitivity to help interpret omics data.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas A. Verschut, Renny Ng, Nicolas P. Doubovetzky, Guillaume Le Calvez, Jan L. Sneep, Adriaan J. Minnaard, Chih-Ying Su, Mikael A. Carlsson, Bregje Wertheim, Jean-Christophe Billeter
Summary: Female fruit flies can assess the social information of their oviposition sites by detecting the concentration of pheromones left by previous visitors. They prefer sites with intermediate pheromone concentrations and avoid sites with low or high concentrations. This decision-making process is based on the detection of two different pheromones.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Martijn A. Schenkel, Jean-Christophe Billeter, Leo W. Beukeboom, Ido Pen
Summary: Sex determination is a crucial process in development and its molecular basis is diverse. It can be categorized as genetic or environmental, but mixed systems are more common than previously thought. Environmental effects on gene expression within sex determination regulatory mechanisms can trigger evolutionary divergence of these mechanisms within species.
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sebastian Bessler, Jens Soltwisch, Klaus Dreisewerd
Summary: This study used mass spectrometry imaging to investigate the distribution of cardiolipin in murine retinal cell layers and found that differentially enriched and expressed polyunsaturated fatty acids play an important role in retinal pathologies.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tiphaine P. M. Bailly, Philip Kohlmeier, Rampal S. Etienne, Bregje Wertheim, Jean-Christophe Billeter
Summary: Being part of a group facilitates cooperation between group members but also creates competition for resources. Gravid females modulate reproductive output depending on social context, laying eggs faster when grouped to reduce competition between offspring and increase survival. The presence of others triggers this response, regardless of sex, mating status, or species. The modulation of egg laying by group is connected to a lifting of the inhibition of light on oogenesis and egg laying, possibly mediated by an increase in juvenile hormone activity. This suggests a widespread and profound influence of social context on reproduction.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Boyan Kostadinov, Hannah Lee Pettibone, Evardra Valerie Bell, Xiaona Zhou, Ausra Pranevicius, Orie Thomas Shafer, Maria Paz Fernandez
Summary: This protocol provides a standardized method for analyzing Drosophila behavioral rhythmicity under different conditions, along with a computational framework for analysis. An extended method for complete use is also provided in this protocol. For full details, please refer to the publication by Fernandez et al. (2020).