Effect of heat shock on courtship behavior, sound production, and learning in comparison with the brain content of LIMK1 in Drosophila melanogaster males with altered structure of the limk1 gene

In this paper we present results of a comprehensive analysis of the effect of heat shock at different stages of ontogenesis (adult stage, development of mushroom bodies and the central complex) on courtship behavior (latency, duration and efficacy of courtship), sound production (pulse interval, dispersion of interpulse interval, percentage of distorted pulses, the mean duration of the pulse samples), learning and memory formation compared with the content of LIMK1 isoforms in male Drosophila melanogaster with altered structure of the limk1 gene. The heat shock is shown to affect the behavior parameters and LIMK1 content in the analyzed strains of Drosophila. The most pronounced effect of the heat shock was observed at the stage of development of the central complex (CC). Heat shock at CC and adults restores the ability of learning and memory formation in the mutant strain agnts3 that normally is unable to learn and form memory. Correlations between changes of content of LIMK1 isoforms and behavioral parameters due to heat shock have not been established.