The consequences of mating at the molecular level
Researchers identified a novel mechanism by which mating affects the behavior of germline stem cells (GSCs). By studying Drosophila melanogaster, the researchers showed that the neurons that are activated during mating result in increased intracellular calcium signaling in cells adjacent to GSCs, which in turn resulted in the activation of the protein matrix metalloproteinase to increase GSCs. This study describes how stem cell behavior is regulated by environmental cues.
Source: ScienceDaily