Learning and rhythms in courting, mutant Drosophila

Abstract

Male and female fruit flies learn and remember various aspects of their reproductive experiences. This ability can improve reproductive fitness. Such conclusions stem in part from the effects on courtship of mutations affecting learning and memory. Certain elements of experience-dependent reproductive behavior involve rhythmic components of the male's singing behavior. These song rhythms have entered the general arena of biological clocks via the effects of circadian rhythm mutations on an oscillating component of the courtship song. The behavioral genetic analysis of connections among these various kinds of complex behavior has recently been expanded to include molecular studies, aimed at manipulating and understanding the 'learning' and the 'clock' genes. © 1986.