Adult Frass Provides a Pheromone Signature for Drosophila Feeding and Aggregation.

ABSTRACT: Adult Drosophila melanogaster locate food resources by using distinct olfactory cues that often are associated with the fermentation of fruit. However, in addition to being an odorous food source and providing a possible site for oviposition, fermenting fruit also provides a physical substrate upon which flies can attract and court a potential mate. In this study, we demonstrate that Drosophila adults are able to recruit additional flies to a food source by covering the exposed surface area with fecal spots, and that this recruitment is mediated via olfactory receptors (Ors). Analyses of the deposited frass material demonstrates that frass contains several previously studied pheromone components, such as methyl laurate (ML), methyl myristate (MM), methyl palmitate (MP), and 11-cis-vaccenyl

SUBMITTER: Keesey IW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5045843 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature