Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-8-2025
Abstract
Circadian rhythms play a crucial role in regulating behavior, physiology, and health. Sexual dimorphism, a widespread phenomenon across species, influences circadian behaviors. Additionally, post-mating physiological changes in females are known to modulate various behaviors, yet their effects on circadian rhythms remain underexplored. Here, using Drosophila melanogaster, a powerful model for studying circadian mechanisms, we systematically assessed the impact of sex and mating status on circadian behavior. We measured circadian period length and rhythm strength in virgin and mated males and females, including females mated to males lacking Sex Peptide (SP), a key mediator of post-mating changes. Across four wild-type and control strains, we found that males consistently exhibited shorter circadian periods than females, regardless of mating status, suggesting that circadian period length is a robust sexually dimorphic trait. In contrast, rhythm strength was influenced by the interaction between sex and mating status, with female mating generally reducing rhythm strength in the presence of SP signaling. Notably, genetic background significantly modulated these effects on rhythm strength. Our findings demonstrate that while circadian period length is a stable sex-specific trait, rhythm strength is shaped by a complex interplay between sex, mating status, and genetic background. This study advances our understanding of how sex and mating influence circadian rhythms in Drosophila and provides a foundation for future research into sexually dimorphic mechanisms underlying human diseases associated with circadian disruptions
Recommended Citation
Akpoghiran, Oghenerukevwe; Strich, Alexandra K.; and Koh, Kyunghee, "Effects of Sex, Mating Status, and Genetic Background on Circadian Behavior in Drosophila" (2025). Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers. Paper 66.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/farberneursofp/66
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
39844849
Language
English
Comments
This article, first published by Frontiers Media, is the author's final published version in Frontiers in Neuroscience, Volume 18, 2025, Article number 1532868.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2024.1532868.
Copyright © 2025 Akpoghiran, Strich and Koh