Interaction between temperature and male pheromone in sexual isolation in Drosophila melanogaster. 2013

G Bontonou, and B Denis, and C Wicker-Thomas
CNRS UPR 9034, Université de Paris Sud, Gif sur Yvette, France.

In Drosophila, female hydrocarbons are known to be involved in premating isolation between different species and pheromonal races. The role of male-specific hydrocarbon polymorphism is not as well documented. The dominant cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) in male D. melanogaster is usually 7-tricosene (7-T), with the exception of African populations, in which 7-pentacosene (7-P) is dominant. Here, we took advantage of a population from the Comoro Islands (Com), in which males fell on a continuum of low to high levels of 7-T, to perform temperature selection and selection on CHCs' profiles. We conducted several experiments on the selected Com males to study the plasticity of their CHCs in response to temperature shift, their role in resistance to desiccation and in sexual selection. We then compared the results obtained for selected lines to those from three common laboratory strains with different and homogenous hydrocarbon profiles: CS, Cot and Tai. Temperature selection modified the CHC profiles of the Com males in few generations of selection. We showed that the 7-P/7-T ratio depends on temperature with generally more 7-P at higher temperatures and observed a relationship between chain length and resistance to desiccation in both temperature- and phenotypically selected Com lines. There was partial sexual isolation between the flies with clear-cut phenotypes within the phenotypically selected lines and the laboratory strains. These results indicate that the dominant male pheromones are under environmental selection and may have played a role in reproductive isolation.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D010675 Pheromones Chemical substances, excreted by an organism into the environment, that elicit behavioral or physiological responses from other organisms of the same species. Perception of these chemical signals may be olfactory or by contact. Allelochemical,Allelochemicals,Allomone,Allomones,Ectohormones,Kairomone,Kairomones,Pheromone,Semiochemical,Semiochemicals,Synomones
D002849 Chromatography, Gas Fractionation of a vaporized sample as a consequence of partition between a mobile gaseous phase and a stationary phase held in a column. Two types are gas-solid chromatography, where the fixed phase is a solid, and gas-liquid, in which the stationary phase is a nonvolatile liquid supported on an inert solid matrix. Chromatography, Gas-Liquid,Gas Chromatography,Chromatographies, Gas,Chromatographies, Gas-Liquid,Chromatography, Gas Liquid,Gas Chromatographies,Gas-Liquid Chromatographies,Gas-Liquid Chromatography
D003433 Crosses, Genetic Deliberate breeding of two different individuals that results in offspring that carry part of the genetic material of each parent. The parent organisms must be genetically compatible and may be from different varieties or closely related species. Cross, Genetic,Genetic Cross,Genetic Crosses
D004331 Drosophila melanogaster A species of fruit fly frequently used in genetics because of the large size of its chromosomes. D. melanogaster,Drosophila melanogasters,melanogaster, Drosophila
D005260 Female Females
D000475 Alkenes Unsaturated hydrocarbons of the type Cn-H2n, indicated by the suffix -ene. (Grant & Hackh's Chemical Dictionary, 5th ed, p408) Alkene,Olefin,Olefins,Pentene,Pentenes
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D012641 Selection, Genetic Differential and non-random reproduction of different genotypes, operating to alter the gene frequencies within a population. Natural Selection,Genetic Selection,Selection, Natural
D013045 Species Specificity The restriction of a characteristic behavior, anatomical structure or physical system, such as immune response; metabolic response, or gene or gene variant to the members of one species. It refers to that property which differentiates one species from another but it is also used for phylogenetic levels higher or lower than the species. Species Specificities,Specificities, Species,Specificity, Species

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