Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males

Davis, Danyel S.; Hashem, Warda; Lama, Chamala; Reeve, Joseph L.; Dauwalder, Brigitte

doi:10.3390/cimb47080626

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Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males

by

Danyel S. Davis

^†,

Warda Hashem

^†,

Chamala Lama

^‡,

Joseph L. Reeve

^‡ and

Brigitte Dauwalder

^*

Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004, USA

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

^‡

These authors contributed equally to this work

Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2025, 47(8), 626; https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080626

Submission received: 12 June 2025 / Revised: 24 July 2025 / Accepted: 30 July 2025 / Published: 6 August 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology)

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Abstract

Beyond its crucial role as a tight barrier to protect the nervous system, the Blood–Brain Barrier (BBB) is increasingly being recognized for its physiological processes that affect brain function and behavior. In Drosophila melanogaster, the BBB expresses sex-specific transcripts, and a change in the sexual identity of adult BBB cells results in a significant reduction in male courtship behavior. The molecular nature of this BBB/brain interaction and the molecules that mediate it are unknown. Here we feminize BBB cells by targeted expression of the Drosophila female-specific master regulator TraF in otherwise normal males. We examined the effect on RNA expression in dissected brains by RNA sequenc-ing. We find that 283 transcripts change in comparison to normal control males. Tran-scripts representing cell signaling processes and synaptic communication are enriched, as are hormonal mediators. These transcripts provide a valuable resource for addressing questions about BBB and brain interaction.

Keywords: Drosophila; Blood–Brain Barrier; transcriptome; sex-specific

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MDPI and ACS Style

Davis, D.S.; Hashem, W.; Lama, C.; Reeve, J.L.; Dauwalder, B. Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males. Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2025, 47, 626. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080626

AMA Style

Davis DS, Hashem W, Lama C, Reeve JL, Dauwalder B. Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males. Current Issues in Molecular Biology. 2025; 47(8):626. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080626

Chicago/Turabian Style

Davis, Danyel S., Warda Hashem, Chamala Lama, Joseph L. Reeve, and Brigitte Dauwalder. 2025. "Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males" Current Issues in Molecular Biology 47, no. 8: 626. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080626

APA Style

Davis, D. S., Hashem, W., Lama, C., Reeve, J. L., & Dauwalder, B. (2025). Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 47(8), 626. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb47080626

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Feminization of the Blood–Brain Barrier Changes the Brain Transcriptome of Drosophila melanogaster Males

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