The manipulation of one gene has managed to transfer the behavior of one species to another

2025/08/14 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Eboluzioa
• Genetika

By simply changing a gene, the behavior of one species of fruit flies has been taken over by another species by a team of Japanese researchers. Specifically, the popular fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has acquired the courtesy of Drosophila suboscura by activating an insulin-producing gene in neurons. The experiment, published in the journal Science, is the first example in which behavioral transfer is demonstrated by manipulation of a single gene.

In nature, most male fruit flies use the sound they produce through their wings to cut. Somehow, they create songs for the female. Drosophila subobscura has developed a very different strategy: the male brings the food back to his mouth and offers it to the female as a gift when courting.

D. melanogaster and D. subobscura evolved about 30-35 million years ago. Both have a certain gene that controls the courting behavior of the males, but they have developed different strategies: the first sings and the other gives gifts. The researchers clarified the reason for this difference: In D. subobscura, insulin-producing neurons are connected to the cortex brain control center, while in D. melanogaster, these neurons remain disconnected.

In the experiment, when this gene was activated in D. melanogaster, the cells produced long neuronal projections and were connected to the cortex center. Thus, for the first time, the neural circuit that would lead D. melanogaster to make gifts was born.

The researchers say that the finding indicates that the evolution of new behaviors does not necessarily lead to the formation of new neurons eskatzen.Hain, small genetic changes in a few pre-existing neurons can lead to behavioral changes and ultimately contribute to species differentiation.