Date of Award

Spring 2002

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2002 Bubu Banini. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Biology Department

First Advisor

Kathleen King Siwicki

Abstract

The mushroom body (MB) brain area has been shown to be important for memory of courtship conditioning and learning of associative olfactory conditioning in Drosophila melanogaster. Despite the implication of Gα_S, the α_S subunit of GTP-binding protein, in MB function, its specific role in courtship memory has not been established. In this study, we investigated the role of Gα_S signaling in MBs during courtship memory by expressing a constitutively active form of Gα_S (Gα_S*) specifically in the MBs. Our result showed that 60-minute courtship memory was completely disrupted in flies expressing Gα_S*, but was normal in control flies. This indicated that Gα_S signaling in MBs is required for short-term courtship memory in Drosophila.

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