Why “platonic” flies don’t copulate and what that could mean for humans

Why “platonic” flies don’t copulate and what that could mean for humans

By studying the sexual behavior of a mutant strain of fruit fly called “platonic,” researchers at the Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences have found parallels between humans and flies in the neural control of copulation.
As the name suggests, male and female platonic-mutant flies (Drosophila) actively interact but do not copulate. And the researchers now believe they know why.
“The fly genome is composed of some 15,000 genes,” says Professor Daisuke Yamamoto. “And we’ve discovered that the impairment of