Neuronal circuitry underlying female aggression in Drosophila

Aggressive social interactions are used to compete for limited resources and are regulated by complex sensory cues and the organism’s internal state. While both sexes exhibit aggression, its neuronal underpinnings are understudied in females. Here, we describe a set of connected neurons in the adult Drosophila melanogaster central brain that drive female aggression. We identified a population of sexually dimorphic aIPg neurons whose optogenetic activation increased, and genetic inactivation reduced, female aggression. Analysis of GAL4 lines identified in an unbiased screen for increased female chasing behavior revealed the involvement of another sexually dimorphic neuron, pC1d, and implicated pC1d and aIPg neurons as core nodes regulating female aggression. pC1d activation increased female aggression and electron microscopy (EM) connectomic analysis demonstrated that aIPg neurons and pC1d have strong reciprocal connections. Our work reveals important regulatory components of the neuronal circuitry that underlies female aggressive social interactions and provides tools for their manipulation.