The Ganter Institute is interested in the genetic control of behavior. We have studied aggressive behavior in lobsters, singing behavior in grasshoppers, and most recently, courtship behavior in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. These behaviors are mostly determined genetically.

Fruit fly males sing to females to put them in a reproductive mood. We have shown that interference with a male fly's steroid hormone system causes them to sing to males as well as females. Our current experiments are aimed at describing the mechanisms by which steroids modulate sexual behavior in the fly. And since steroids are known to affect sexual behavior in a wide variety of other animals, we believe our results will help us better understand how behavior is regulated in general.