Faculty Opinions recommendation of A mutation with major effects on Drosophila melanogaster sex pheromones.

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artyom Kopp
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sex Pheromones

scholarly journals Modulation of Sex Pheromone Discrimination by a UDP-Glycosyltransferase in Drosophila melanogaster

Genes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane Fraichard ◽  
Arièle Legendre ◽  
Philippe Lucas ◽  
Isabelle Chauvel ◽  
Philippe Faure ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Insertion Mutation ◽  
Electrophysiological Activity ◽  
Chemical Stimuli ◽  
Odorant Binding ◽  
Receptor Saturation

The detection and processing of chemical stimuli involve coordinated neuronal networks that process sensory information. This allows animals, such as the model species Drosophila melanogaster, to detect food sources and to choose a potential mate. In peripheral olfactory tissues, several classes of proteins are acting to modulate the detection of chemosensory signals. This includes odorant-binding proteins together with odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs). These enzymes, which primarily act to eliminate toxic compounds from the whole organism also modulate chemodetection. ODEs are thought to neutralize the stimulus molecule concurrently to its detection, avoiding receptor saturation thus allowing chemosensory neurons to respond to the next stimulus. Here, we show that one UDP-glycosyltransferase (UGT36E1) expressed in D. melanogaster antennal olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) is involved in sex pheromone discrimination. UGT36E1 overexpression caused by an insertion mutation affected male behavioral ability to discriminate sex pheromones while it increased OSN electrophysiological activity to male pheromones. Reciprocally, the decreased expression of UGT36E1, controlled by an RNAi transgene, improved male ability to discriminate sex pheromones whereas it decreased electrophysiological activity in the relevant OSNs. When we combined the two genotypes (mutation and RNAi), we restored wild-type-like levels both for the behavioral discrimination and UGT36E1 expression. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that this UGT plays a pivotal role in Drosophila pheromonal detection.

scholarly journals Ageing via perception costs of reproduction magnifies sexual selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1892) ◽  
pp. 20182136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto García-Roa ◽  
Manuel Serra ◽  
Pau Carazo
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Selection Intensity ◽  
Costs Of Reproduction ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Male Mortality ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Reproductive Ageing

Understanding what factors modulate sexual selection intensity is crucial to a wide variety of evolutionary processes. Recent studies show that perception of sex pheromones can severely impact male mortality when it is not followed by mating (perception costs of reproduction). Here, we examine the idea that this may magnify sexual selection by further decreasing the fitness of males with inherently low mating success, hence increasing the opportunity for sexual selection. We use mathematical modelling to show that even modest mortality perception costs can significantly increase variability in male reproductive success under a wide range of demographic conditions. We then conduct a series of assays suggesting that, in Drosophila melanogaster , failure to reproduce early in life may, via perception costs of reproduction, significantly reduces the subsequent fitness of males ( ca 25%), due mostly to increased reproductive ageing. Altogether, our results strongly suggest that perception costs of reproduction can magnify sexual selection in a biologically significant way. Finally, we estimate that around 29% of available studies quantify sexual selection based on short-term fitness estimates that may fail to capture these effects (if they were present in their subject species), and suggest addressing the existence and impact of perception costs of reproduction across taxa should thus be a priority.

scholarly journals THE EFFECT OF TRANSFORMER, DOUBLESEX AND INTERSEX MUTATIONS ON THE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER

Genetics ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 111 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-96
Author(s):  
Scott P McRobert ◽  
Laurie Tompkins
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Nervous System ◽  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Sex Pheromones ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Normal Males ◽  
And Function ◽  
Female Specific

ABSTRACT We have identified the effects of genes that regulate sex determination on female-specific tissues in the abdomen that produce sex pheromones and parts of the central nervous system that function when a male performs courtship. To do this, we monitored the sexual behaviors of flies with mutations in the transformer (tra), doublesex (dsx) and intersex (ix) genes. Except for tra, which transforms diplo-X flies so that they look and function like normal males, these mutations do not have the same effect on pheromone-producing tissues and the central nervous system as they do on the appearance of the fly. The dsx and ix mutations, which make diplo-X-flies look like intersexes, do not transform the flies so that they can perform courtship, suggesting that these genes do not regulate the development of sex-specific parts of the central nervous system. Conversely, the ix mutation, which has no effect on the appearance of haplo-X flies, makes the flies sexually attractive and impairs their ability to perform courtship, which implies that the ix gene is active in internal tissues of males.

Author response for "Location and arrangement of campaniform sensilla in Drosophila melanogaster"

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gesa F. Dinges ◽  
Alexander S. Chockley ◽  
Till Bockemühl ◽  
Kei Ito ◽  
Alexander Blanke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Author Response ◽  
Campaniform Sensilla

Live Confocal Analysis of Fertilization and Early Development

2001 ◽  
Vol 7 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1012-1013
Author(s):  
Uyen Tram ◽  
William Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Early Development ◽  
Fluorescent Probes ◽  
Primary Defect ◽  
Fluorescent Analysis ◽  
Dynamic Event ◽  
Enormous Amount ◽  
Fluorescent Studies

Embryonic development is a dynamic event and is best studied in live animals in real time. Much of our knowledge of the early events of embryogenesis, however, comes from immunofluourescent analysis of fixed embryos. While these studies provide an enormous amount of information about the organization of different structures during development, they can give only a static glimpse of a very dynamic event. More recently real-time fluorescent studies of living embryos have become much more routine and have given new insights to how different structures and organelles (chromosomes, centrosomes, cytoskeleton, etc.) are coordinately regulated. This is in large part due to the development of commercially available fluorescent probes, GFP technology, and newly developed sensitive fluorescent microscopes. For example, live confocal fluorescent analysis proved essential in determining the primary defect in mutations that disrupt early nuclear divisions in Drosophila melanogaster. For organisms in which GPF transgenics is not available, fluorescent probes that label DNA, microtubules, and actin are available for microinjection.

Apoptosis and development

2003 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
pp. 11-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin V McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Cell Number ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans ◽  
Apoptotic Pathway ◽  
Genetic Pathways ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Multicellular Organisms

Apoptosis is an evolutionarily conserved process used by multicellular organisms to developmentally regulate cell number or to eliminate cells that are potentially detrimental to the organism. The large diversity of regulators of apoptosis in mammalian cells and their numerous interactions complicate the analysis of their individual functions, particularly in development. The remarkable conservation of apoptotic mechanisms across species has allowed the genetic pathways of apoptosis determined in lower species, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, to act as models for understanding the biology of apoptosis in mammalian cells. Though many components of the apoptotic pathway are conserved between species, the use of additional model organisms has revealed several important differences and supports the use of model organisms in deciphering complex biological processes such as apoptosis.

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