“Language Gene” FoxP Modulates Pulse Song Features and Spatial Localization

Abstract

FOXP2 was the first gene implicated in the development of speech and language, sparking interest in the genetic basis of language. Male Drosophila melanogaster display stereotyped behavior and produce patterned song while courting a female, providing a great path for studying behaviors and communication in a model organism with well-established genetic tools. FoxP, a homolog of FOXP2 found in D. melanogaster, has been previously shown to play critical roles in operant self-learning and patterning of motor activity as well as maintaining proper courtship song patterning. However, the exact role of FoxP in these courtship behaviors or the neural pathways that facilitate this role are not known. To further specify these roles, this thesis utilized quantification of song features and behavior on males with mutant FoxP genes and RNAi knockdown of FoxP in select brain regions. FoxP was found necessary for proper pulse song production and spatial localization with the protocerebral bridge, a region of the central complex involved in maintenance of walking, partially responsible for facilitating this role. The work presented here provides a quantitative and qualitative approach for studying genetic factors of behavior and communication within D. melanogaster and uncovering the neural mechanisms that support them.