Editing Drosophila (section)

==== Courtship behavior ====
The following section is based on the following ''Drosophila'' species: ''Drosophila simulans'' and ''Drosophila melanogaster''.
 
Courtship behavior of male ''Drosophila'' is an attractive behaviour.<ref name="Pan">{{cite journal | vauthors = Pan Y, Robinett CC, Baker BS | title = Turning males on: activation of male courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 6 | issue = 6 | pages = e21144 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21731661 | pmc = 3120818 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0021144 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2011PLoSO...621144P }}</ref> Females respond via their perception of the behavior portrayed by the male.<ref name="Cook">{{cite journal | vauthors = Cook RM | title = Courtship processing in Drosophila melanogaster. II. An adaptation to selection for receptivity to wingless males | journal = Animal Behaviour | volume = 21 | issue = 2 | pages = 349–358 | date = May 1973 | pmid = 4198506 | doi = 10.1016/S0003-3472(73)80077-6 }}</ref> Male and female ''Drosophila'' use a variety of sensory cues to initiate and assess courtship readiness of a potential mate.<ref name="Pan" /><ref name="Cook" /><ref name="Crossly">{{cite journal | vauthors = Crossley SA, Bennet-Clark HC, Evert HT |year=1995 |title=Courtship song components affect male and female ''Drosophila'' differently |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=827–839 |doi=10.1016/0003-3472(95)80142-1|s2cid=53161217 }}</ref> The cues include the following behaviours: positioning, pheromone secretion, following females, making tapping sounds with legs, singing, wing spreading, creating wing vibrations, genitalia licking, bending the stomach, attempt to copulate, and the copulatory act itself.<ref name="Ejimal and Griffith">{{cite journal | vauthors = Ejima A, Griffith LC | title = Measurement of Courtship Behavior in Drosophila melanogaster | journal = Cold Spring Harbor Protocols | volume = 2007 | issue = 10 | pages = pdb.prot4847 | date = October 2007 | pmid = 21356948 | doi = 10.1101/pdb.prot4847 }}</ref><ref name="Pan" /><ref name="Cook" /><ref name="Crossly" /> The songs of ''Drosophila melanogaster'' and ''Drosophila simulans'' have been studied extensively. These luring songs are sinusoidal in nature and varies within and between species.<ref name="Crossly" />

The courtship behavior of ''Drosophila melanogaster'' has also been assessed for sex-related genes, which have been implicated in courtship behavior in both the male and female.<ref name="Pan" /> Recent experiments explore the role of fruitless (''fru'') and doublesex (''dsx''), a group of sex-behaviour linked genes.<ref name="Certel">{{cite journal | vauthors = Certel SJ, Savella MG, Schlegel DC, Kravitz EA | title = Modulation of Drosophila male behavioral choice | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 104 | issue = 11 | pages = 4706–4711 | date = March 2007 | pmid = 17360588 | pmc = 1810337 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0700328104 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2007PNAS..104.4706C }}</ref><ref name="Pan" />

The [[Fruitless (gene)|fruitless]] (''fru'') gene in ''Drosophila'' helps regulate the network for male courtship behavior; when a mutation to this gene occurs altered same sex sexual behavior in males is observed.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Demir E, Dickson BJ | title = fruitless splicing specifies male courtship behavior in Drosophila | journal = Cell | volume = 121 | issue = 5 | pages = 785–794 | date = June 2005 | pmid = 15935764 | doi = 10.1016/j.cell.2005.04.027 | doi-access = free }}</ref> Male ''Drosophila'' with the ''fru'' mutation direct their courtship towards other males as opposed to typical courtship, which would be directed towards females.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Yamamoto D, Kohatsu S | title = What does the fruitless gene tell us about nature vs. nurture in the sex life of Drosophila? | journal = Fly | volume = 11 | issue = 2 | pages = 139–147 | date = April 2017 | pmid = 27880074 | pmc = 5406164 | doi = 10.1080/19336934.2016.1263778 }}</ref> Loss of the ''fru'' mutation leads back to the typical courtship behavior.<ref name=":0" />