Required for two aspects of male mating behavior: response to hermaphrodite contact and vulva location. Acts in the same pathway as pkd-2 and atp-2 in response behavior. May be required for ciliary targeting of pkd-2. Interacts (via PLAT domain) with atp-2 (via N-terminus) and with kin-10 (via C-terminus). Interacts (via C-terminus) with isoform a of stam-1/pqn-19 (via C-terminus). localizes to both the ciliary base and cilium proper. Exclusively expressed in a subset of three categories of adult male sensory neurons: ray neurons, hook neurons and head cephalic (CEM) neurons. First expressed during L4 and peaks in the adult male. Worms lacking lov-1 exhibit defects in two aspects of male mating behavior: response to hermaphrodite contact and vulva location. Belongs to the polycystin family.