| Title: | Cuticular hydrocarbon analysis of an awake behaving fly using direct analysis in real-time time-of-flight mass spectrometry |
| Author(s): | Yew JY; Cody RB; Kravitz EA; |
| Address: | "Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, 220 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1091-6490 (Electronic) 0027-8424 (Print) 0027-8424 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In mammals and insects, pheromones strongly influence social behaviors such as aggression and mate recognition. In Drosophila melanogaster, pheromones in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons play prominent roles in courtship. GC/MS is the primary analytical tool currently used to study Drosophila cuticular hydrocarbons. Although GC/MS is highly reproducible and sensitive, it requires that the fly be placed in a lethal solution of organic solvent, thereby impeding further behavioral studies. We present a technique for the analysis of hydrocarbons and other surface molecules from live animals by using direct analysis in real-time (DART) MS. Cuticular hydrocarbons were sampled from the surface of a restrained, awake behaving fly by using several brief, carefully controlled depressions of the abdomen with a small steel probe. DART mass spectral analysis of the probe detected ions with mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of the protonated molecule corresponding to many of the previously identified unsaturated hydrocarbons. Six additional cuticular hydrocarbons also were identified. Consistent with previous GC/MS studies, male and female differences in chemical composition were evident. Spatial differences in the expression profile also were observed on males. Sampling from an individual female first as a virgin and then 45 and 90 min after successful copulation showed that mass signals likely to correspond to cis-vaccenyl acetate, tricosene, and pentacosene increased in relative intensity after courtship. This method provides near-instantaneous analysis of an individual animal's chemical profile in parallel with behavioral studies and could be extended to other models of pheromone-mediated behavior" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Behavior, Animal Drosophila melanogaster Female Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry/methods Hydrocarbons/*chemistry Ions Male Mass Spectrometry/*methods Pheromones/metabolism Sex Attractants *Sexual Behavior, Animal Solvents/chemistry Time Factor;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineYew, Joanne Y Cody, Robert B 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/ R01 GM074675/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ MH072127/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. 2008/05/14 Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 May 20; 105(20):7135-40. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0802692105. Epub 2008 May 12" |
