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Specialized cells tag sexual and species identity in Drosophila melanogaster

Author

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  • Jean-Christophe Billeter

    (University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada)

  • Jade Atallah

    (University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada)

  • Joshua J. Krupp

    (University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada)

  • Jocelyn G. Millar

    (University of California, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, USA)

  • Joel D. Levine

    (University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada)

Abstract

An attractive proposition Social interaction within and between species is well known to rely on chemical communication but the underlying codes are hidden in complex blends of pheromones. Billeter et al. have now genetically ablated the cells that produce hydrocarbon pheromones in the cuticle of Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies — the oenocytes — to create a 'blank state' in which to study chemical communication. Surprisingly, oenocyte-less flies, male or female, are sexually hyper-attractive for male flies, and even for males from a different species. The normal social and species boundaries are restored by 'perfuming' the flies with individual synthetic chemicals.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Christophe Billeter & Jade Atallah & Joshua J. Krupp & Jocelyn G. Millar & Joel D. Levine, 2009. "Specialized cells tag sexual and species identity in Drosophila melanogaster," Nature, Nature, vol. 461(7266), pages 987-991, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:461:y:2009:i:7266:d:10.1038_nature08495
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08495
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    Cited by:

    1. Rebecca Rooke & Joshua J. Krupp & Amara Rasool & Mireille Golemiec & Megan Stewart & Jonathan Schneider & Joel D. Levine, 2024. "The gene “degrees of kevin bacon” (dokb) regulates a social network behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Thomas A. Verschut & Renny Ng & Nicolas P. Doubovetzky & Guillaume Calvez & Jan L. Sneep & Adriaan J. Minnaard & Chih-Ying Su & Mikael A. Carlsson & Bregje Wertheim & Jean-Christophe Billeter, 2023. "Aggregation pheromones have a non-linear effect on oviposition behavior in Drosophila melanogaster," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Nan-Ji Jiang & Xinqi Dong & Daniel Veit & Bill S. Hansson & Markus Knaden, 2024. "Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-8, December.

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