Damaged Gene Disrupts Sex Life of Fruit Flies
<i> Associated Press</i>
Scientists have isolated a gene that disrupts sexual behavior in fruit flies when it’s damaged. Further work might lead to a pest-control weapon that makes insects sterile.
Mutations in the gene prevent females from laying eggs. They also make females avoid sex partners and fight them off if they attempt to mate. Males with a defective gene court other males as well as females, and mate poorly because they have trouble bending their abdomens properly to copulate.
Scientists haven’t found a human version of the gene, but there’s a lot more human DNA to look at, said Michael McKeown of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
