The Role of the USP Receptor in the BBB for Drosophila Male Courtship

In this experiment, we explore the USP gene that produces a protein that interacts with two insect hormone receptors (Ecdysone and Juvenile Hormone). These hormones are known to play a role in insect developmental transitions (Naoki Yamanaka et al., 2012). Our lab also has evidence that they play a role in the blood brain barrier (BBB) to regulate Drosophila male courtship. The goal of this experiment was to investigate whether the USP protein also plays a significant role in adult male courtship. To study how USP affects male courtship of Drosophila, the Mdr-Gal4;Gal80ts system was used in conjunction with USP-RNAi to knockdown the USP product in the BBB. The courtship behavior of the control flies and the mutant flies was examined. Our results suggest that the flies with reduced USP levels, had normal courtship when compared to its uninduced counterpart, suggesting that this receptor may not be required to mediate hormonal action in the BBB.