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PLoS One

Title:		Variation in the male pheromones and mating success of wild caught Drosophila melanogaster
Author(s):		Scott D; Shields A; Straker M; Dalrymple H; Dhillon PK; Harbinder S;
Address:		"Department of Biological and Physical Sciences, South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States of America. dscott@physics.scsu.edu"
Journal Title:		PLoS One
Year:		2011
Volume:		20110817
Issue:		8
Page Number:		e23645 -
DOI:		10.1371/journal.pone.0023645
ISSN/ISBN:		1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Drosophila melanogaster males express two primary cuticular hydrocarbons (male-predominant hydrocarbons). These act as sex pheromones by influencing female receptivity to mating. The relative quantities of these hydrocarbons vary widely among natural populations and can contribute to variation in mating success. We tested four isofemale lines collected from a wild population to assess the effect of intrapopulation variation in male-predominant hydrocarbons on mating success. The receptivity of laboratory females to males of the four wild-caught lines varied significantly, but not consistently in the direction predicted by variation in male-predominant hydrocarbons. Receptivity of the wild-caught females to laboratory males also varied significantly, but females from lines with male-predominant hydrocarbon profiles closer to a more cosmopolitan one did not show a correspondingly strong mating bias toward a cosmopolitan male. Among wild-caught lines, the male-specific ejaculatory bulb lipid, cis-vaccenyl acetate, varied more than two-fold, but was not associated with variation in male mating success. We observed a strong inverse relationship between the receptivity of wild-caught females and the mating success of males from their own lines, when tested with laboratory flies of the opposite sex"
Keywords:		"Animals Drosophila melanogaster/classification/metabolism/*physiology Female Hydrocarbons/chemistry/*metabolism Male Mating Preference, Animal/physiology Reproduction/physiology Sex Attractants/*metabolism Sexual Behavior, Animal/*physiology Species Speci;"
Notes:		"MedlineScott, David Shields, Alicia Straker, Michaela Dalrymple, Heidi Dhillon, Priya K Harbinder, Singh eng Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2011/08/23 PLoS One. 2011; 6(8):e23645. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023645. Epub 2011 Aug 17"