The Drosophila pheromone cis-11-octadecenyl acetate (cVA) is used as pheromone throughout the melanogaster group and fulfils a primary role in sexual and social behaviours. Here, we found that Drosophila suzukii, an invasive pest that oviposits in undamaged ripe fruit, does not produce cVA. In fact, its production site, the ejaculatory bulb, is atrophied. Despite loss of cVA production, its receptor, Or67d, and cognate sensillum, T1, which are essential in cVA-mediated behaviours, were fully functional. However, T1 expression was dramatically reduced in D. suzukii, and the corresponding antennal lobe glomerulus, DA1, minute. Behavioural responses to cVA depend on the input balance of Or67d neurons (driving cVA-mediated behaviours) and Or65a neurons (inhibiting cVA-mediated behaviours). Accordingly, the shifted input balance in D. suzukii has reversed cVA's role in sexual behaviour: perfuming D. suzukii males with Drosophila melanogaster equivalents of cVA strongly reduced mating rates. cVA has thus evolved from a generic sex pheromone to a heterospecific signal that disrupts mating in D. suzukii, a saltational shift, mediated through offsetting the input balance that is highly conserved in congeneric species. This study underlines that dramatic changes in a species' sensory preference can result from rather 'simple' numerical shifts in underlying neural circuits
Dekker, T.; Revadi, S.; Mansourian, S.; Ramasamy, S.; Lebreton, S.; Becher, P.G.; Angeli, S.; Rota Stabelli, O.; Anfora, G. (2015). Loss of Drosophila pheromone reverses its role in sexual communication in Drosophila suzukii. PROCEEDINGS - ROYAL SOCIETY. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 282 (1804): 20143018. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.3018 handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/24831
Citation: | Dekker, T.; Revadi, S.; Mansourian, S.; Ramasamy, S.; Lebreton, S.; Becher, P.G.; Angeli, S.; Rota Stabelli, O.; Anfora, G. (2015). Loss of Drosophila pheromone reverses its role in sexual communication in Drosophila suzukii. PROCEEDINGS - ROYAL SOCIETY. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 282 (1804): 20143018. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.3018 handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10449/24831 |
Internal authors: | |
Organization unit: | Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department # CRI_2011-JAN2016 |
Authors: | Dekker, T.; Revadi, S.; Mansourian, S.; Ramasamy, S.; Lebreton, S.; Becher, P.G.; Angeli, S.; Rota Stabelli, O.; Anfora, G. |
Title: | Loss of Drosophila pheromone reverses its role in sexual communication in Drosophila suzukii |
Journal: | PROCEEDINGS - ROYAL SOCIETY. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES |
Issue Date: | 2015 |
Scientific Disciplinary Area: | Settore AGR/11 - Entomologia Generale E Applicata |
Keywords ENG: | Drosophila suzukii Ejaculatory bulb Evolution Fruitless Pheromone Sensory drive |
Language: | English |
IF: | With Impact Factor ISI |
Publication status: | Published |
Nature of content: | Articolo in rivista/Article |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.3018 |
Appears in Collections: | 01 - Journal article |
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