Genetics of cuticular hydrocarbon differences between males of the parasitoid wasps Nasonia giraulti and Nasonia vitripennis.

ABSTRACT: Many insects rely on cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as major recognition signals between individuals. Previous research on the genetics of CHCs has focused on Drosophila in which the roles of three desaturases and one elongase were highlighted. Comparable studies in other insect taxa have not been conducted so far. Here, we explore the genetics of CHCs in hybrids of the jewel wasps Nasonia giraulti and Nasonia vitripennis. We analyzed the CHC profiles of pure strain and of F(2) hybrid males using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and distinguished 54 peaks, of which we identified 52 as straight-chain, monounsaturated, or methyl-branched CHCs. The latter compound class proved to be particularly abundant and diverse in Nasonia. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis suggests

SUBMITTER: Niehuis O 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3186122 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature