Localization of pheromonal sexual dimorphism in Drosophila melanogaster and its effect on sexual isolation.
- 10 October 1995
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 92 (21) , 9505-9509
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.92.21.9505
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster is sexually dimorphic for cuticular hydrocarbons, with males and females having strikingly different profiles of the long-chain compounds that act as contact pheromones. Gas-chromatographic analysis of sexual mosaics reveals that the sex specificity of hydrocarbons is located in the abdomen. This explains previous observations that D. melanogaster males display the strongest courtship toward mosaics with female abdomens. We also show that males of the sibling species Drosophila simulans preferentially court D. melanogaster mosaics with male abdomens. Because the primary male hydrocarbon in D. melanogaster is also the primary female hydrocarbon in D. simulans, this supports the idea that interspecific differences in cuticular hydrocarbons contribute to sexual isolation.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- Genetic Feminization of Brain Structures and Changed Sexual Orientation in Male DrosophilaScience, 1995
- Genetics of a pheromonal difference contributing to reproductive isolation in DrosophilaScience, 1994
- Genetics of sexual isolation in females of theDrosophila simulansspecies complexGenetics Research, 1992
- Genetics of sexual isolation between two sibling species, Drosophila simulans and Drosophila mauritiana.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1989
- Sex pheromone production and perception in European corn borer moths is determined by both autosomal and sex-linked genesProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1987
- A further characterization of Drosophila cuticular monoenes using a mass spectrometry method to localize double bonds in complex mixturesAnalytical Biochemistry, 1985
- A few chemical words exchanged byDrosophila during courtship and matingBehavior Genetics, 1984
- Genetic and behavioral studies of female sex appeal inDrosophilaBehavior Genetics, 1979
- Portions of the central nervous system controlling reproductive behavior inDrosophila melanogasterBehavior Genetics, 1977
- Sex Attractant Pheromone of the House Fly: Isolation, Identification and SynthesisScience, 1971