Simple methods to acutely measure multiple timing metrics among the sexual repertoire of male Drosophila
- 1HIT Center for Life Sciences, School of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
- 2University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
Abstract
Male Drosophila courtship behavior is a key model for studying temporal decision-making. While courtship index (CI) is widely used to quantify mating activity, other timing metrics like courtship latency, copulation latency (CL), and mating duration (MD) remain understudied. Traditional methods for quantifying these behaviors are often labor-intensive and prone to human error. In this study, we present a protocol combining a modular chamber system and automated software (DrosoMating) to quantify six key timing metrics during male courtship. Our image-based video analysis enables precise identification of courtship and copulation events, as well as quantification of their timing and duration under controlled conditions. Validation shows <0.05% error rates and 98–99% agreement with manual scoring for CL, CI, and MD. The protocol supports genetic and neural circuit manipulations, detecting subtle genetic, social, and environmental behavioral variations. By minimizing manual effort and standardizing data collection, this approach facilitates scalable, reproducible studies on adaptive trade-offs, learning, and neural mechanisms in mating behavior. This method streamlines timing analysis in male courtship, offering reproducible metrics for behavioral genetics.
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BibTeX
@article{song2026simple,
title = {{Simple methods to acutely measure multiple timing metrics among the sexual repertoire of male Drosophila}},
author = {Yutong Song and Hongyu Miao and Dongyu Sun and Xiao Liu and Fan Jiang and Xuejiao Yang and Woo Jae Kim},
journal = {eLife},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.7554/elife.109742},
url = {https://elifesciences.org/articles/109742},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Simple methods to acutely measure multiple timing metrics among the sexual repertoire of male Drosophila
AU - Yutong Song
AU - Hongyu Miao
AU - Dongyu Sun
AU - Xiao Liu
AU - Fan Jiang
AU - Xuejiao Yang
AU - Woo Jae Kim
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/06
JO - eLife
DO - 10.7554/elife.109742
UR - https://elifesciences.org/articles/109742
AB - Male Drosophila courtship behavior is a key model for studying temporal decision-making. While courtship index (CI) is widely used to quantify mating activity, other timing metrics like courtship latency, copulation latency (CL), and mating duration (MD) remain understudied. Traditional methods for quantifying these behaviors are often labor-intensive and prone to human error. In this study, we present a protocol combining a modular chamber system and automated software (DrosoMating) to quantify six key timing metrics during male courtship. Our image-based video analysis enables precise identification of courtship and copulation events, as well as quantification of their timing and duration under controlled conditions. Validation shows <0.05% error rates and 98–99% agreement with manual scoring for CL, CI, and MD. The protocol supports genetic and neural circuit manipulations, detecting subtle genetic, social, and environmental behavioral variations. By minimizing manual effort and standardizing data collection, this approach facilitates scalable, reproducible studies on adaptive trade-offs, learning, and neural mechanisms in mating behavior. This method streamlines timing analysis in male courtship, offering reproducible metrics for behavioral genetics.
SN - 2050-084X
ER -