Ontogeny of Drosophila melanogaster female sex-appeal and cuticular hydrocarbons.

The chemical communication system in Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, 1830 plays a major role in courtship and consists of the male-specific cis-Vaccenyl acetate and sex-specific contact pheromones, cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC), which build up during ontogeny (first 4 days). They replace longer CHCs, common to both sexes and present only after the imaginal eclosion. A detailed quantitative description of the evolution of cuticular unsaturated hydrocarbons with age is presented here for males and females of different D.

Germline-dependent gene expression in distant non-gonadal somatic tissues of Drosophila.

Background: Drosophila females commit tremendous resources to egg production and males produce some of the longest sperm in the animal kingdom. We know little about the coordinated regulation of gene expression patterns in distant somatic tissues that support the developmental cost of gamete production.

Results: We determined the non-gonadal gene expression patterns of Drosophila females and males with or without a germline.

Evolution of cuticular hydrocarbons of Hawaiian Drosophilidae.

Hawaiian Drosophila offer an excellent model for adaptive evolution. More than 500 species are reported in Hawaiian islands, and there is considerable diversity in behavior and morphology. Such diversity is mainly driven by sexual selection.

Role of the ejaculatory bulb in biosynthesis of the male pheromone cis-vaccenyl acetate in Drosophila melanogaster.

In Drosophila melanogaster, the male ejaculatory bulb is the site of synthesis of a male-specific pheromone, cis-vaccenyl acetate, which functions as both an attractant and an anti-aphrodisiac. This long monounsaturated acetate is structurally similar to a number of shorter gland-synthesized moth pheromones. The cell monolayer that forms the Drosophila male ejaculatory bulb wall is responsible for the production and secretion of cis-vaccenyl acetate into the seminal fluid.

Quantitative trait loci for cuticular hydrocarbons associated with sexual isolation between Drosophila simulans and D. sechellia.

The identification of genes with large effects on sexual isolation and speciation is an important link between classic evolutionary genetics and molecular biology. Few genes that affect sexual isolation and speciation have been identified, perhaps because many traits influencing sexual isolation are complex behaviors. Cuticular hydrocarbons (CHs) of species of the Drosophila melanogaster group play a large role in sexual isolation by functioning as contact pheromones influencing mate recognition.

Sexual isolation and cuticular hydrocarbon differences between Drosophila santomea and Drosophila yakuba.

Drosophila santomea and Drosophila yakuba are two sister species inhabiting Saõ Tomé island. Previous studies showed that both species display strong reproductive isolation, although they can produce a few viable hybrids. Our study tried to understand the mechanism of this ethological isolation between two allopatric strains.

Female-specific regulation of cuticular hydrocarbon biosynthesis by dopamine in Drosophila melanogaster.

The role of dopamine (DA) is investigated in cuticular hydrocarbon biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster with three different approaches: use of DA-deficient mutants (dopa decarboxylase temperature sensitive mutants reared at restrictive temperature, and rescued by dopamine ingestion or by pale mutants partially rescued by a tyrosine hydroxylase construction), pharmacological treatments (tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitors) and topical application on decapitated flies. We report that DA specifically regulates diene hydrocarbon biosynthesis, which is female specific. Our results suggest that DA acts in adult flies within the first hours of imaginal life and that DA production from the brain is crucial for this process.

Why there is a one-way crossability between D. melanogaster and D. simulans? An ontogenic explanation.

In the Drosophila melanogaster complex, females D. melanogaster mate relatively easily with males Drosophila simulans but the reciprocal cross is rare. The species sexual isolation is mainly based on chemical and acoustic signal exchanges between partners.

Relations between cuticular hydrocarbon (HC) polymorphism, resistance against desiccation and breeding temperature; a model for HC evolution in D. melanogaster and D. simulans.

D. simulans and D. melanogaster present two types of polymorphism in their cuticular hydrocarbon (HC) composition.

ALTERED MATING BEHAVIOR IN A CARSONIAN POPULATION OF DROSOPHILA SECHELLIA.

Mating behavior was studied in two laboratory populations of Drosophila sechellia and their reciprocal hybrids. The ancestral population was reared on a special medium, optimal for this species, while the derived population was reared on a standard Drosophila food, and underwent a bottleneck while adapting to this new medium, in a manner similar to the "founder-flush" process of Carson (1971). A significant tendency towards mating asymmetry was found, with ancestral females mating significantly less frequently with derived males than derived females with ancestral males.

VARIATIONS IN CUTICULAR HYDROCARBONS AMONG THE EIGHT SPECIES OF THE DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER SUBGROUP.

In addition to protecting against desiccation, some of the hydrocarbons of the waxy cuticle have previously been shown to be mating pheromones in Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans. Therefore, cuticular hydrocarbons were compared among the eight species in the D.