Learning and memory mutations impair acoustic priming of mating behaviour in Drosophila

Abstract

The courtship song in Drosophila melanogaster has two components, a low-frequency hum and a train of pulses with a species-specific interpulse interval (IPI) of 30–40 ms^1,2. The IPIs oscillate rhythmically, with periods between 50 and 60 s in wild-type males³. When females are stimulated with artificial songs in the presence of courting but silent (wingless) males, the ‘pulse song’ and its oscillation can enhance mating success^4–6. If separated males and females are first simultaneously primed with invariant 34-ms IPIs, their subsequent mating success is improved⁷. However, exclusive prestimulation of females leads to faster mating only when the hum component of the song is applied, not constant 34-ms IPIs⁵. We have re-examined these findings by testing whether prior exposure of females to a rhythmic pulse song speeds up subsequent mating performance. We report here that it does. Furthermore, learning and memory mutations⁸, expressed in the females to whom songs are being played, either ‘block’ or attenuate the effectiveness of acoustical priming.