Drosophila switch gene Sex-lethal can bypass its switch-gene target transformer to regulate aspects of female behavior.

ABSTRACT: The switch gene Sex-lethal (Sxl) was thought to elicit all aspects of Drosophila female somatic differentiation other than size dimorphism by controlling only the switch gene transformer (tra). Here we show instead that Sxl controls an aspect of female sexual behavior by acting on a target other than or in addition to tra. We inferred the existence of this unknown Sxl target from the observation that a constitutively feminizing tra transgene that restores fertility to tra(-) females failed to restore fertility to Sxl-mutant females that were adult viable but functionally tra(-). The sterility of these mutant females was caused by an ovulation failure. Because tra expression is not sufficient to render these Sxl-mutant females fertile, we refer to this pathway as the tra-insufficient femini

SUBMITTER: Evans DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3839706 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature