448C Poster - 05. Reproduction and gametogenesis
Saturday April 09, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Authors:
Mengye Yang ¹; Melissa White ¹; Jennifer Apger-McGlaughon ¹; Geoffrey Findlay ²; Mariana Wolfner ¹

Affiliations:
1) Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; 2) College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

Keywords:
h. sex-specific traits and molecules; j. other signaling pathways

Males transfer hundreds of seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) along with sperm to the female reproductive tract during copulation. Sfps cause female post-mating responses, both behavioral and physiological, which ensure optimal reproductive success. Although female molecules must interact with Sfps to facilitate these processes and affect reproduction, how this occurs is not understood. Ovulin is an Sfp that manipulates octopaminergic signaling, resulting in a short-term increase in ovulation. Ovulin likely interacts with a receptor within the mated female to stimulate growth by octopamine-producing Tdc2 neurons. Therefore, identifying the female’s ovulin receptor (OvR) would significantly advance our understanding of the mechanism of ovulin’s action and guide future investigations into Sfp actions, including in human fertility. We performed two evolutionary rate co-variation screens to identify OvR candidates. We narrowed down the candidate list to twelve GPCRs, based on their effect on egg-laying and/or their expression pattern. Genetic analysis of ovulation rate in the female flies knocked down for candidate receptors revealed several promising candidates for OvR along with others with ovulin-independent roles in ovulation. To verify direct interactions between ovulin and OvR candidates we are performing several complementary assays: membrane-anchored split-ubiquitin yeast two hybrid assays, cell-culture based assays, and in vivo approaches such as TANGO.