Effects of Reduced Syntaxin 1a Expression on Drosophila Melanogaster Social Behavior

Abstract

Genes, the brain and social behavior are tightly intertwined. Therefore, identifying the specific genes that influence the structure and function of the brain circuits that shape social behavior is extremely difficult. Across multiple studies of a variety of mammals and insects, one gene in particular, syntaxin 1a, is continuously found to be an interesting candidate. It has even been implicated in several different neuropsychiatric conditions in humans. However, the genetic basis of mammalian behaviors and insect eusociality are particularly difficult to elucidate due to their complexity. This is the first study to investigate the link between syntaxin 1a and social behavior in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. To examine the function of syntaxin 1a, I utilized the UAS-GAL4 Gene Switch system to induce gene knockdown. Additionally, I looked at Drosophila with a hemizygous deletion of syntaxin 1a. I investigated several measures of social behavior and observed that control Canton-S Drosophila tended to aggregate into groups significantly more than those with a hemizygous deletion, suggesting that syntaxin 1a is linked to sociality in Drosophila. Quantitative Reverse Transcription-PCR was also performed to verify that syntaxin 1a expression was reduced.