These three differences between male and female wiring in flies are driven by two key genes. Researchers have known about the genes for years, and how they’re linked to each of these behaviours. What they’ve never been able to see is the bit in the middle. Now, for the first time, they can see the actual wiring those genes produce.
The primary aim of the research was not to discover the differences between male and female flies, and certainly not to find neurological explanations for certain alleged behavioural differences between men and women.
Comparing two brains that have some slight wiring differences associated with known big behavioural differences enables scientists to clearly see the principles that underlie the changes to brain wiring for all behaviour, according to Beckett.
“You just have one independent variable, the sex, and then you can see what’s different. This is a scientist’s dream”.
These differences take scientists a big step forward in understanding one of the biggest questions in biology – how genes influence behaviour.
Scientists have known for decades that they do, but have had little idea of exactly how they exert their influence. The answer, according to Dr Jefferis, is in how the genes shape the brain’s wiring and how that wiring influences behaviour.
“The fly brain comparison gives us a really good handle on this,” he told BBC News.
“There are patterns of behaviour in humans that seem to have a strong genetic, basis. So, for example, there are many gene varients now related to schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders that we don’t really understand”.
