Neuronal circuits and behavior
Title picutre: Male courtship song (blue trace) and female copulation song (magenta trace) in Drosophila. Reconstructed neurons in the ventral nerve cord of the fly that are implicated in acoustic signaling behavior are shown below.
Animals and their nervous systems have evolved to reproduce. Although each species courts and mates differently, common mechanisms of how nervous systems implement sex differences during development, organize action sequences, encode approach and reward and communicate during social interactions are conserved. We use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, where we can manipulate the action of genes and the development and activity of neurons with advanced genetic tools, to address basic questions about the neuronal circuits orchestrating reproductive behavior.
We focus on circuits for motor pattern generation and the architecture of neuro-muscular networks, as well as the mechanisms of higher order coordination of complex motor behaviors and behavioral sequences. Furthermore, we are interested in the communication between nervous system and the rest of the body. We address inter-organ signaling in the context of sexual behavior during copulation and aim at understanding how sensing of seminal fluid impacts female sexual behavior and how female signals affect male seminal fluid allocation.
Members
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Professor
- Senior scientist
- Researcher
- PhD student
- Alumni
Projects
Publications
Abdominal-B regulates the male seminal fluid transferome and new female fecundity factors required for sperm sex peptide binding
Kathrin Steck, Lina Verbakel, Peter Kerwin, Vladimir Trajanovikj, Katarzyna Kjoege, Katarzyna Kjøge, Jan J Enghild, Jan J. Enghild, Anne C. von Philipsborn, (2026) | PreprintCorrelated Gene Copy Number Changes in a Seminal Fluid Protein Network in Drosophila
J.A. Carlisle, B.K. McCormick, L. Verbakel, A.C. von Philipsborn, M.F. Wolfner, A.G. Clark, (2025) | PreprintDual-color optical activation and suppression of neurons with high temporal precision
Noëmie Mermet-Joret, Andrea Moreno, Agnieszka Zbela, Milad Nazari, Bárður Eyjólfsson Ellendersen, Raquel Comaposada Baro, Nathalie Krauth, Anne von Philipsborn, Andreas Toft Sørensen, Joaquin Piriz, John Yu-luen Lin, Sadegh Nabavi, eLife (2025) | Journal articleDual-color optical activation and suppression of neurons with high temporal precision
Noëmie Mermet-Joret, Andrea Moreno, Agnieszka Zbela, Milad Nazari, Bárður Eyjólfsson Ellendersen, Raquel Comaposada Baro, Nathalie Krauth, Anne von Philipsborn, Andreas Toft Sørensen, Joaquin Piriz, John Yu-luen Lin, Sadegh Nabavi, eLife (2025) | Journal articleTitin-dependent biomechanical feedback tailors sarcomeres to specialized muscle functions in insects
Jean-Francois Rupprecht, Bianca Habermann, Wouter Koolhaas, Aditya Aniruddha Sane, Stefanie Reiter, Pierre Mangeol, Nicolas Brouilly, Sabina Avosani, Frank Schnorrer, Pitaval, Anne C. von Philipsborn, Paul DE BOISSIER, Eunice Ho-Yee Chan, Dirk Görlich, Nuno Miguel Luis, Vincent Loreau, Science Advances (2025) | Journal articleReproductive behavior: Decrypting cryptic female choice
Anne C. von Philipsborn, Current Biology (2024) | Journal articleTitin-dependent biomechanical feedback tailors sarcomeres to specialised muscle functions in insects
Vincent Loreau, Wouter Koolhaas, Eunice HoYee Chan, Paul De Boissier, Nicolas Brouilly, Sabina Avosani, Aditya Aniruddha Sane, Christophe Pitaval, Stefanie Reiter, Nuno Miguel Luis, Pierre Mangeol, Anne C. von Philipsborn, Jean-Francois Rupprecht, Dirk Görlich, Bianca Habermann, Frank Schnorrer, (2024) | PreprintGABAergic signaling shapes multiple aspects of Drosophila courtship motor behavior
Hoger Amin, Stella S. Nolte, Bijayalaxmi Swain, Anne C. von Philipsborn, iScience (2023) | Journal articleDual-color optical activation and suppression of neurons with high temporal precision
Noëmie Mermet-Joret, Andrea Moreno, Agnieszka Zbela, Bárður Eyjólfsson Ellendersen, Nathalie Krauth, Anne von Philipsborn, Joaquin Piriz, John Y. Lin, Sadegh Nabavi, (2023) | Journal articleCourtship Conditioning/Suppression Assays in Drosophila
von Philipsborn AC, Shohat-Ophir G, Rezaval C, Cold Spring Harbor protocols (2023) | Journal articleFemale Fly Postmating Behaviors
von Philipsborn AC, Shohat-Ophir G, Rezaval C, Cold Spring Harbor protocols (2023) | Journal articleMeasurement of Drosophila Reproductive Behaviors
von Philipsborn AC, Shohat-Ophir G, Rezaval C, Cold Spring Harbor protocols (2023) | Journal articleProbing Acoustic Communication during Fly Reproductive Behaviors
von Philipsborn AC, Shohat-Ophir G, Rezaval C, Cold Spring Harbor protocols (2023) | Journal articleSingle-Pair Courtship and Competition Assays in Drosophila
von Philipsborn AC, Shohat-Ophir G, Rezaval C, Cold Spring Harbor protocols (2023) | Journal articleGABAergic signaling shapes multiple aspects ofDrosophilacourtship motor behavior
Hoger Amin, Stella S. Nolte, Bijayalaxmi Swain, Anne C. von Philipsborn, (2023) | PreprintDual-color optical activation and suppression of neurons with high temporal precision
Mermet-Joret, Noëmie and Moreno, Andrea and Zbela, Agnieszka and Ellendersen, Bárur Eyjólfsson and Krauth, Nathalie and von Philipsborn, Anne and Piriz, Joaquin and Lin, John Y. and Nabavi, Sadegh, bioRxiv (2021) | Journal articleSound production in Drosophila melanogaster: Behaviour and neurobiology , in Advances in Insect Physiology
Bijayalaxmi Swain and Anne C. von Philipsborn (Elsevier, 2021) | Book chapterCopulation Song in Drosophila: Do Females Sing to Change Male Ejaculate Allocation and Incite Postcopulatory Mate Choice?
Peter Kerwin, Anne C. Philipsborn, Anne C. von Philipsborn, BioEssays (2020) | Journal articleFemale copulation song is modulated by seminal fluid
Peter Kerwin, Jiasheng Yuan, Anne C. von Philipsborn, Nature Communications (2020) | Journal articleNeuroscience: The Female Art of Saying No
von Philipsborn, A.C., Current Biology (2020) | Journal articleReward foraging task and model-based analysis reveal how fruit flies learn value of available options
Seidenbecher, S.E. and Sanders, J.I. and von Philipsborn, A.C. and Kvitsiani, D., PLoS ONE (2020) | Journal articleForaging fruit flies mix navigational and learning-based decision-making strategies
Sophie E. Seidenbecher and Joshua I. Sanders and Anne C. von Philipsborn and Duda Kvitsiani, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2019) | OtherMultifunctional Wing Motor Control of Song and Flight
Angela O’Sullivan and Theodore Lindsay and Anna Prudnikova and Balazs Erdi and Michael Dickinson and Anne C. von Philipsborn, Current Biology (2018) | Journal articleNeurobiology , in Insect behavior From Mechanisms to Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences
(2018) | Book chapterEphrin-A/EphA specific co-adaptation as a novel mechanism in topographic axon guidance
Felix Fiederling and Markus Weschenfelder and Martin Fritz and Anne von Philipsborn and Martin Bastmeyer and Franco Weth, eLife (2017) | Journal articleEditorial overview: Recent advances in insect neuroethology: from sensory processing to circuits controlling internal states
Heinze, S. and von Philipsborn, A.C., Current Opinion in Insect Science (2017) | Journal articleNeuronal modulation of D. melanogaster sexual behaviour
Ellendersen, B.E. and von Philipsborn, A.C., Current Opinion in Insect Science (2017) | Journal articleMale Drosophila melanogaster learn to prefer an arbitrary trait associated with female mating status
Current Zoology (2015) | Journal articleCellular and Behavioral Functions of fruitless Isoforms in Drosophila Courtship
von Philipsborn, A. C. and Jörchel, S. and Tirian, L. and Demir, E. and Morita, T. and Stern, D. L. and Dickson, B. J., Curr Biol (2014) | Journal articleNeuronal Control of Drosophila Courtship Song
von Philipsborn, Anne C. and Liu, Tianxiao and Yu, Jai Y. and Masser, Christopher and Bidaye, Salil S. and Dickson, Barry J., Neuron (2011) | Journal articleStructure and functional relevance of the Slit2 homodimerization domain
Seiradake, Elena and von Philipsborn, Anne C. and Henry, Maud and Fritz, Martin and Lortat-Jacob, Hugues and Jamin, Marc and Hemrika, Wieger and Bastmeyer, Martin and Cusack, Stephen and McCarthy, AndrewA., Embo Reports (2009) | Journal articleGrowth cone response to ephrin gradients produced by microfluidic networks
Lang, Susanne and von Philipsborn, Anne C. and Bernard, Andre and Bonhoeffer, Friedrich and Bastmeyer, Martin, Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (2008) | Journal articleMechanisms of gradient detection: A comparison of axon pathfinding with eukaryotic cell migration
von Philipsborn, Anne and Bastmeyer, Martin and Jeon, KW, International Review of Cytology - a Survey of Cell Biology, Vol 263 (2007) | Journal articleSubstrate-bound protein gradients for cell culture fabricated by microfluidic networks and microcontact printing
von Philipsborn, A. C. and Lang, S. and Jiang, Z. and Bonhoeffer, F. and Bastmeyer, M., Sci STKE (2007) | Journal articleGrowth cone navigation in substrate-bound ephrin gradients
von Philipsborn, AC and Lang, S and Loeschinger, J and Bernard, A and David, C and Lehnert, D and Bonhoeffer, F and Bastmeyer, M, Development (2006) | Journal articleMicrocontact printing of axon guidance molecules for generation of graded patterns
Von Philipsborn, Anne C. and Lang, Susanne and Bernard, Andre and Loeschinger, Juergen and David, Christian and Lehnert, Dirk and Bastmeyer, Martin and Bonhoeffer, Friedrich, Nature Protocols (2006) | Journal articleRestricted expression of Reggie genes and proteins during early zebrafish development
von Philipsborn, AC and Ferrer-Vaquer, A and Rivera-Milla, E and Stuermer, CAO and Malaga-Trillo, E, Journal of Comparative Neurology (2005) | Journal article - Senior scientist
