Drosophila melanogaster Stress Odorant (dSO) Displays the Characteristics of an Interspecific Alarm Cue.

Organisms depend on visual, auditory, and olfactory cues to signal the presence of danger that could impact survival and reproduction. Drosophila melanogaster emits an olfactory alarm signal, termed the Drosophila stress odorant (dSO), in response to mechanical agitation or electric shock. While it has been shown that conspecifics avoid areas previously occupied by stressed individuals, the contextual underpinnings of the emission of, and response to dSO, have received little attention.

Abnormal Social Interactions in a Mutant of an Autism Candidate Gene: .

Social interactions are typically impaired in neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, for which the genetic underpinnings are very complex. Social interactions can be modeled by analysis of behaviors, including social spacing, sociability, and aggression, in simpler organisms such as . Here, we examined the effects of mutants of the autism-related gene () on fly social and non-social behaviors.

Social behavior and aging: A fly model.

The field of behavioral genetics has recently begun to explore the effect of age on social behaviors. Such studies are particularly important, as certain neuropsychiatric disorders with abnormal social interactions, like autism and schizophrenia, have been linked to older parents. Appropriate social interaction can also have a positive impact on longevity, and is associated with successful aging in humans.

Progeny of old parents have increased social space in Drosophila melanogaster.

We report the effects of aging and parental age in Drosophila melanogaster on two types of responses to social cues: the choice of preferred social spacing in an undisturbed group and the response to the Drosophila stress odorant (dSO) emitted by stressed flies. The patterns of changes during aging were notably different for these two social responses. Flies were initially closer in space and then became further apart.