The Olfactory Logic behind Fruit Odor Preferences in Larval and Adult Drosophila.

Despite the comprehensive knowledge on odor coding, our understanding of the relationship between sensory input and behavioral output in Drosophila remains weak. Here, we measure the behavioral responses generated by larval and adult flies in response to 34 fruit odors and find that larval preference for fruit odors differs from that of adult flies. Next, we provide a functional analysis of the full repertoire of the peripheral olfactory system using the same comprehensive stimulus spectrum.

Pathogenic bacteria enhance dispersal through alteration of Drosophila social communication.

Pathogens and parasites can manipulate their hosts to optimize their own fitness. For instance, bacterial pathogens have been shown to affect their host plants' volatile and non-volatile metabolites, which results in increased attraction of insect vectors to the plant, and, hence, to increased pathogen dispersal. Behavioral manipulation by parasites has also been shown for mice, snails and zebrafish as well as for insects.

Potencies of effector genes in silencing odor-guided behavior in .

The genetic toolbox in offers a multitude of different effector constructs to silence neurons and neuron populations. In this study, we investigated the potencies of several effector genes - when expressed in olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) - to abolish odor-guided behavior in three different bioassays. We found that two of the tested effectors ( and ) are capable of mimicking the mutant phenotype in all of our behavioral paradigms.

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

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).