Abstract
Behavior is regulated by information originating from different sensory modalities. Aggression is a universal social behavior with an important role in obtaining food, mates, territory, and social status. In this study, we demonstrate that hearing regulates aggression in
Drosophila
males. Further, we show that courtship and aggression songs differentially affect aggression, indicating that hearing contributes to the context-dependent regulation of aggression.
Aggression is a universal social behavior important for the acquisition of food, mates, territory, and social status. Aggression in
Drosophila
is context-dependent and can thus be expected to involve inputs from multiple sensory modalities. Here, we use mechanical disruption and genetic approaches in
Drosophila melanogaster
to identify hearing as an important sensory modality in the context of intermale aggressive behavior. We demonstrate that neuronal silencing and targeted knockdown of hearing genes in the fly’s auditory organ elicit abnormal aggression. Further, we show that exposure to courtship or aggression song has opposite effects on aggression. Our data define the importance of hearing in the control of
Drosophila
intermale aggression and open perspectives to decipher how hearing and other sensory modalities are integrated at the neural circuit level.