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Scientists reverse sex roles in fruit flies
Just one gene can make big difference, study says
By Robert Roy Britt
Senior writer
Updated: 5:04 p.m. ET June 2, 2005
Scientists have discovered it is surprisingly easy to reverse sex roles in fruit flies. By changing just one gene, they can make a female perform the courtship ritual of the male.
She'll sing, vibrate her wings and lick a potential female suitor. But it's all for naught, as nature doesn't let the flip-flopped sexual advances proceed to any productive conclusion.
Previous studies found that a single gene controls courtship in fruit flies. Males have a form of the gene that produces a protein, dubbed "fruitless," that governs their complex rituals designed to impress a mate. It also is responsible for the males' preference to breed with females. In females, the gene produces a different form of the fruitless protein.
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