Hsp70 promoter and regulatory regions drive expression of the synthetic RQ11+12 non-coding RNA which is known to bind human recombinant prion protein (hrPrP).
Male flies expressing Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 exhibit an increased proportion of non-sexual activity during courtship compared to wild type flies, and this effect is seen both with and without heat shock. The increase in the proportion of time spent in orientation and pursuit normally seen during courtship in wild type flies in response to heat shock is absent in these flies. The proportion of time spent in vibration and attempted copulation is small compared to wild type.
The amount of time that Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 mutant male flies spend singing during courtship is low compared to wild type flies, and courtship efficiency is also reduced. Heat-shocking male during development leads to locomotor hyper-excitation. Males that have been heat-shocked during adulthood have a much longer courtship latency, and mating efficiency is unaffected by heat shock. Mating success is also low. Some males do not court females at all and many males fail to copulate within the 10 minute observation period.
The number of distorted pulses during courtship singing is increased in flies expressing Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 compared to wild type. Unlike in wild-type, no difference in the number of distorted pulses is seen when the flies are heat-shocked at either the larval or adult stages. An increase is seen when heat-shock takes place during the larval to pupal transition.
Expression of Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 affects the rate and working pattern of the sine pacemaker, and bouts of sine song in Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 flies are much longer than in controls. Heat shock has no effect on length of sine song bout in wild type, but is altered in mutants. The length of bouts is reduced when one copy of Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 is expressed, but increased when two copies are expressed.
Male flies expressing one copy of Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 and heat shocked either during the larval to pupal transition or during pupation exhibit the shift from courtship behaviour to non-sexual activity seen in wild type flies in response to courting a mated female. Expression of two copies of Zzzz\aptamerhs.RQ11+12 suppresses this shift.
