Researchers have engineered a courtship ritual from one species of fruit fly into another using genetic modification. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

A Japanese research team tweaked a single gene in the fly Drosophila melanogaster , causing it to display a courtship ritual only previously seen in Drosophila subobscura.

The research shows that manipulations of relatively small chunks of genetic code can alter complex behaviors.

Dating as a fly is a complicated game. In the majority of fly species, D. melanogaster included, male flies vibrate their wings, composing elaborate courtship “songs” to seduce their mates.

But D. subobscura have clearly decided the route to the heart is through the stomach. Males reg

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