Alternative Splicing in TRPA1 Drives Sensory Adaptation to Electrophiles in Drosophilids.

ABSTRACT: Behaviors are among the first traits to evolve as animals enter new niches, but their molecular bases are poorly understood. To address this gap, we used the mustard-feeding drosophilid fly Scaptomyza flava, which feeds on toxic Brassicales plants like wasabi that produce noxious, electrophilic isothiocyanates (ITCs or mustard oils). We found that S. flava exhibits dramatically reduced behavioral sensitivity to allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) compared to its microbe-feeding relatives Scaptomyza pallida and Drosophila melanogaster. We hypothesized that molecular evolution of the "wasabi receptor" TRPA1, known to detect ITCs in flies, could explain this loss of aversion. Our experiments revealed three interconnected evolutionary genetic changes consistent with this hy

SUBMITTER: Suzuki HC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12132172 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature