Specialized cells tag sexual and species identity in Drosophila melanogaster

Jean-Christophe Billeter, Jade Atallah, Joshua J. Krupp, Jocelyn G. Millar and Joel D. Levine ()
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Jean-Christophe Billeter: University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
Jade Atallah: University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
Joshua J. Krupp: University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada
Jocelyn G. Millar: University of California, 3401 Watkins Drive, Riverside, California 92521, USA
Joel D. Levine: University of Toronto at Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada

Nature, 2009, vol. 461, issue 7266, 987-991

Abstract: An attractive proposition Social interaction within and between species is well known to rely on chemical communication but the underlying codes are hidden in complex blends of pheromones. Billeter et al. have now genetically ablated the cells that produce hydrocarbon pheromones in the cuticle of Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies — the oenocytes — to create a 'blank state' in which to study chemical communication. Surprisingly, oenocyte-less flies, male or female, are sexually hyper-attractive for male flies, and even for males from a different species. The normal social and species boundaries are restored by 'perfuming' the flies with individual synthetic chemicals.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08495

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