| Title: | A new male sex pheromone and novel cuticular cues for chemical communication in Drosophila |
| Author(s): | Yew JY; Dreisewerd K; Luftmann H; Muthing J; Pohlentz G; Kravitz EA; |
| Address: | "Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. jy47@hms.harvard.edu" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.037 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1879-0445 (Electronic) 0960-9822 (Print) 0960-9822 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "BACKGROUND: In many insect species, cuticular hydrocarbons serve as pheromones that can mediate complex social behaviors. In Drosophila melanogaster, several hydrocarbons including the male sex pheromone 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) and female-specific 7,11-dienes influence courtship behavior and can function as cues for short-term memory associated with the mating experience. Behavioral and physiological studies suggest that other unidentified chemical communication cues are likely to exist. To more fully characterize the hydrocarbon profile of the D. melanogaster cuticle, we applied direct ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UV-LDI-o-TOF MS) and analyzed the surface of intact fruit flies at a spatial resolution of approximately 200 mum. RESULTS: We report the chemical and spatial characterization of 28 species of cuticular hydrocarbons, including a new major class of oxygen-containing compounds. Via UV-LDI MS, pheromones previously shown to be expressed exclusively by one sex, e.g., cVA, 7,11-heptacosadiene, and 7,11-nonacosadiene, appear to be found on both male and female flies. In males, cVA colocalizes at the tip of the ejaculatory bulb with a second acetylated hydrocarbon named CH503. We describe the chemical structure of CH503 as 3-O-acetyl-1,3-dihydroxy-octacosa-11,19-diene and demonstrate a behavioral role for this compound as a long-lived inhibitor of male courtship. Like cVA, CH503 is transferred from males to females during mating. Unlike cVA, CH503 remains on the surface of females for at least 10 days. CONCLUSIONS: Oxygenated hydrocarbons comprise a major previously undescribed class of compounds on the Drosophila cuticular surface. A newly discovered long-chain acetate, CH503, serves as a mediator of courtship-related chemical communication" |
| Keywords: | "*Animal Communication Animals Drosophila melanogaster/*chemistry Female Hydrocarbons/chemistry/*metabolism/pharmacology Male Molecular Structure Sex Attractants/chemistry/*metabolism/pharmacology Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effects/*physiology Spectromet;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineYew, Joanne Y Dreisewerd, Klaus Luftmann, Heinrich Muthing, Johannes Pohlentz, Gottfried Kravitz, Edward A eng R01 GM067645/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ GM067645/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ GM074675/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ F32 MH072127/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ F32 MH072127-03/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ R01 GM074675-04/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ R01 GM067645-06/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ R01 GM074675/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2009/07/21 Curr Biol. 2009 Aug 11; 19(15):1245-54. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.037. Epub 2009 Jul 16" |
