A Drosophila female pheromone elicits species-specific long-range attraction via an olfactory channel with dual specificity for sex and food.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Mate finding and recognition in animals evolves during niche adaptation and involves social signals and habitat cues. Drosophila melanogaster and related species are known to be attracted to fermenting fruit for feeding and egg-laying, which poses the question of whether species-specific fly odours contribute to long-range premating communication.

Results

We have discovered an olfactory channel in D. melanogaster with a dual affinity to sex and food odorants. Female flies release a pheromone, (Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al), that elicits flight attraction in both sexes. Its biosynthetic precursor is the cuticular hydrocarbon (Z,Z)-7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), which is known to afford reproductive isolation between the sibling species D. melanogaster and D. simulans du

SUBMITTER: Lebreton S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5622430 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature