The ability to respond to and interact with the chemical environment is fundamental to the survival of many species. It governs predator-prey relationships, kin and mate selection, food localization, maternal behaviors and avoidance of environmental toxins. Olfactory behavior is determined by the concerted action of multiple genes that interact with one another and with the environment, be it external, genetic or sexual. Like a number of other quantitative traits, odor-guided behavior shows significant sex-specificity in its phenotypic expression. However, the molecular basis of sexual dimorphism remains poorly defined. This study provides the first example of an autosomal pleiotropic gene that undergoes sex-specific transcriptional regulation to provide the potential for sexually dimorphic olfactory behavior. The phenotypic and molecular characterization of a P-element tagged locus, smi97B, reveals that the multiple PDZ (PSD-95, Discs-large, Zo-1) and LRR (Leucine-Rich Repeat) domain protein, Scribble (Scrib) is responsible for olfactory behavior in adult and larval stages of Drosophila melanogaster. In the adult, scrib is alternatively spliced to generate sex-specific transcripts that are correlated with sexually dimorphic olfactory phenotypes. Head-derived scrib splice variants differ in the number and positions of protein-interaction (PDZ and LRR) domains they encode. Since, Scrib is a synaptic scaffolding protein, these differences may direct the organization of sexually dimorphic synaptic signaling assemblies that contribute to odor-guided behavior.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NCSU/oai:NCSU:etd-12092002-021236 |
| Date | 18 December 2002 |
| Creators | Ganguly, Indrani |
| Contributors | Michael Purugganan, Eric Davis, Trudy F. C. Mackay, Robert R. H. Anholt, Coby Schal |
| Publisher | NCSU |
| Source Sets | North Carolina State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/theses/available/etd-12092002-021236/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to NC State University or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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