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BMC Biol

Title:		A Drosophila female pheromone elicits species-specific long-range attraction via an olfactory channel with dual specificity for sex and food
Author(s):		Lebreton S; Borrero-Echeverry F; Gonzalez F; Solum M; Wallin EA; Hedenstrom E; Hansson BS; Gustavsson AL; Bengtsson M; Birgersson G; Walker WB; Dweck HKM; Becher PG; Witzgall P;
Address:		"Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 102, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden. s.a.lebreton@gmail.com. Biological Control Laboratory, Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research, AA 240142 Las Palmas, Bogota, Colombia. Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 102, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden. Department of Chemical Engineering, Mid Sweden University, Holmgatan 10, 85170, Sundsvall, Sweden. Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany. Chemical Biology Consortium Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Scheeles vag 172, 17165, Solna, Sweden. Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA. Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 102, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden. paul.becher@slu.se. Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 102, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden. peter.witzgall@slu.se"
Journal Title:		BMC Biol
Year:		2017
Volume:		20170929
Issue:		1
Page Number:		88 -
DOI:		10.1186/s12915-017-0427-x
ISSN/ISBN:		1741-7007 (Electronic) 1741-7007 (Linking)
Abstract:		"BACKGROUND: Mate finding and recognition in animals evolves during niche adaptation and involves social signals and habitat cues. Drosophila melanogaster and related species are known to be attracted to fermenting fruit for feeding and egg-laying, which poses the question of whether species-specific fly odours contribute to long-range premating communication. RESULTS: We have discovered an olfactory channel in D. melanogaster with a dual affinity to sex and food odorants. Female flies release a pheromone, (Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al), that elicits flight attraction in both sexes. Its biosynthetic precursor is the cuticular hydrocarbon (Z,Z)-7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), which is known to afford reproductive isolation between the sibling species D. melanogaster and D. simulans during courtship. Twin olfactory receptors, Or69aB and Or69aA, are tuned to Z4-11Al and food odorants, respectively. They are co-expressed in the same olfactory sensory neurons, and feed into a neural circuit mediating species-specific, long-range communication; however, the close relative D. simulans, which shares food resources with D. melanogaster, does not respond to Z4-11Al. CONCLUSION: The Or69aA and Or69aB isoforms have adopted dual olfactory traits. The underlying gene yields a collaboration between natural and sexual selection, which has the potential to drive speciation"
Keywords:		"Alkadienes/metabolism *Animal Communication Animals *Chemotaxis Drosophila melanogaster/*physiology Female Olfactory Receptor Neurons/*physiology Pheromones/*physiology Receptors, Odorant/*physiology Sex Attractants/physiology Species Specificity Chemical;"
Notes:		"MedlineLebreton, Sebastien Borrero-Echeverry, Felipe Gonzalez, Francisco Solum, Marit Wallin, Erika A Hedenstrom, Erik Hansson, Bill S Gustavsson, Anna-Lena Bengtsson, Marie Birgersson, Goran Walker, William B 3rd Dweck, Hany K M Becher, Paul G Witzgall, Peter eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2017/10/01 BMC Biol. 2017 Sep 29; 15(1):88. doi: 10.1186/s12915-017-0427-x"