Peter Kerwin: The copulation song of female fruit flies
PhD defence, Friday 25 March 2022. Peter Kerwin
During his PhD studies, Peter Kerwin researched a novel behaviour in the common fruit fly, termed copulation song. Females were found to produce distinct acoustic signals through wing vibrations during copulation. In response to the song, males alter the composition of transferred seminal fluid, impacting the outcome of copulations. Peter Kerwin identified neurons and genes involved in producing copulation song. He further characterized anomalies in the seminal fluid composition of mutant male flies with defects in cells producing seminal fluid.
The research findings contribute to the understanding of brain differences between the sexes, how the brain directs behaviour and the importance of non-sperm components of ejaculates. A better understanding of the behaviour might prove valuable in fields such as insect pest control and fertility treatment.
The PhD study was completed at the Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience (DANDRITE), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University. This summary was prepared by the PhD student.
Time: Friday, 25th of March 2022 at 13:00
Place: The defence will be held online. To receive a link to the event, please send an e-mail to Helle Homann; heho@mbg.au.dk
Title of PhD thesis: Female Drosophila Copulation Song
Contact information: Peter Kerwin, e-mail: pk@dandrite.au.dk
Members of the assessment committee:
- Professor Claudia Fricke, Department of Zoology, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
- Dr. Jan Clemens, European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
- Associate Professor Anni Hangaard Andersen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark (chair)
Main supervisor:
Associate Professor Anne C. von Philipsborn, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark (Now Professor at Faculty of Science and Medicine, Fribourg University, Switzerland)
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English
The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS,
Katrinebjergvej 89F, building 5132, 8200 Aarhus N.