Olfactory specialization in Drosophila suzukii supports an ecological shift in host preference from rotten to fresh fruit.

ABSTRACT: It has been demonstrated that Drosophila suzukii is capable of attacking ripening fruit, making it a unique species within a fly family named for their attraction towards the fermentation products associated with rotten fruits, vinegar, and yeast. It also has been hypothesized that D. suzukii is more attracted to the volatiles associated with the earlier ripening stages of fruit development, and in turn, that D. suzukii is less attracted to fermented food resources, especially when compared with D. melanogaster. Here, we demonstrate that D. suzukii and its close relative D. biarmipes are in fact more sensitive to volatiles associated with the fruit-ripening process; however, in choice-assays, both spotted-wing species are more attracted to fermented fruit than to earlier stages of fruit de

SUBMITTER: Keesey IW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4351439 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature