The influence of innate and external factors on the courtship song of Drosophila melanogaster strain with defect in courtship learning.

The proper performance of the courtship song by Drosophila males greatly increases their mating success. Some song parameters, such as the interpulse interval (IPI), are quite stable, serving as a signal for the female that the male belongs to the same species. Other parameters can vary widely and characterize the courtship eagerness of the male or the improper functioning of its nervous system, being the markers of neurodegeneration. The fruit fly courtship song is affected by both innate and environmental factors. It can also be modified by experience, such as unsuccessful courtship attempts, which typically lead to courtship suppression. In this study, we examined how the pulse song changes after courtship trials, both normally and after exposure to external sound. The strains examined included the wild-type Canton-S (CS) strain and the mutant agnts3, which normally exhibits impaired courtship suppression, although this ability is restored after stress. Surprisingly, we did not observe significant changes in the CS pulse song index following unsuccessful courtship trials. In contrast, the pulse song index increased in agnts3, probably due to impairment of courtship suppression mechanisms. An external sound of ~130-140 Hz eliminated the effects of courtship trials. We also examined the effect of hypomagnetic conditions (HMC) on the pulse song of both strains and their reciprocal hybrids. Under HMC, sex-linked inheritance of IPI was observed.