Food odors trigger Drosophila males to deposit a pheromone that guides aggregation and female oviposition decisions

Abstract
Article and author information
Metrics

Abstract

Animals use olfactory cues for navigating complex environments. Food odors in particular provide crucial information regarding potential foraging sites. Many behaviors occur at food sites, yet how food odors regulate such behaviors at these sites is unclear. Using Drosophila melanogaster as an animal model, we found that males deposit the pheromone 9-tricosene upon stimulation with the food-odor apple cider vinegar. This pheromone acts as a potent aggregation pheromone and as an oviposition guidance cue for females. We use genetic, molecular, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches to show that 9-tricosene activates antennal basiconic Or7a receptors, a receptor activated by many alcohols and aldehydes such as the green leaf volatile E2-hexenal. We demonstrate that loss of Or7a+ neurons or the Or7a receptor abolishes aggregation behavior and oviposition site-selection towards 9-tricosene and E2-hexenal. 9-Tricosene thus functions via Or7a to link food-odor perception with aggregation and egg-laying decisions.

Article and author information

Author details

Chun-Chieh Lin

The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Katharine A Prokop-Prigge

Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
George Preti

Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Christopher J Potter

The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Center for Sensory Biology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States

For correspondence
cpotter@jhmi.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

Copyright

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.