Pre-imaginal conditioning alters adult sex pheromone response in Drosophila

Abstract

Pheromones are chemical signals that induce innate responses in individuals of the same species that may vary with physiological and developmental state. In Drosophila melanogaster, the most intensively studied pheromone is 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), which is synthezised in the male ejaculatory bulb and is transferred to the female during copulation. Among other effects, cVA inhibits male courtship of mated females. We found that male courtship inhibition depends on the amount of cVA and this effect is reduced in male flies derived from eggs covered with low to zero levels of cVA. This effect is not observed if the eggs are washed, or if the eggs are laid several days after copulation. This suggests that courtship suppression involves a form of pre-imaginal conditioning, which we show occurs during the early larval stage. The conditioning effect could not be rescued by synthetic cVA, indicating that it largely depends on conditioning by cVA and other maternally-transmitted factor(s). These experiments suggest that one of the primary behavioral effects of cVA is more plastic and less stereotypical than had hitherto been realised.

Age and experience affect the biosynthesis and emission of a Drosophila pheromone

“…Further investigation will be required to elucidate this. Our observations are not the only effects of early exposure to cVA on adult behaviour: pre-adult exposure to maternallytransmitted cVA alters how adult male courtship is affected by cVA (Everaerts et al, 2018).…”

“…In the case of preimaginal exposure to cVA-rich food, groups of 50 intact eggs were transferred onto regular food with added synthetic cVA (15ng/mm 3 ; Cayman Chemical, Ann Arbor, MI, USA (50 mg/ml solution in ethanol, purity > 98%); (Everaerts et al, 2018)). Adult males eclosing from this food were immediately transferred onto plain food before being tested.…”

“…When the egg is laid by a recently mated female, it is covered in cVA that the male has introduced together with his sperm and other compounds (Billeter and Wolfner, 2018). If this cVA is removed from the egg, the males that eventually emerge show a weaker courtship reduction in response to cVA (Everaerts et al, 2018). This suggests either that cVA directly affects development in the egg, or that early contact with cVA as the larva emerges from the egg shapes the adult response.…”

Modulation of Sex Pheromone Discrimination by a UDP-Glycosyltransferase in Drosophila melanogaster

“…RNAi transgenics against UGT36E1 were purchased from the VDRC [52]. To isogenize its genetic background, the P-UGT36E1 mutation was outcrossed to the Di2 wild-type genetic background of the w 1118 strain by five successive backcrosses [53]. Crosses were performed using standard techniques and genetic methods [54].…”

Research Progress on the Syntheses of Chiral Methyl-Branched Aliphatic Hydrocarbons Insect Pheromones

“…昆虫信息素又称为昆虫外激素, 是由昆虫分泌并释 放到环境中的微量化学物质, 能够引起同种其他个体的 特殊反应, 在昆虫求偶、觅食、产卵等行为中起着通信 联络的重要作用 [1][2][3] . 昆虫信息素根据生物活性, 可分为 昆虫性信息素、昆虫聚集素、昆虫追踪素与昆虫报警信 息素 [4][5][6] .…”