A single mutation alters production and discrimination of Drosophila sex pheromones
A single mutation alters production and discrimination of Drosophila sex pheromones
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DOI：
10.1098/rspb.2004.2971
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发表时间：
2005-02-07
影响因子：
4.7
通讯作者：
Ferveur, JF
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Marcillac, F;Grosjean, Y;Ferveur, JF
通讯的进化是一个基本的生物学问题。信号的遗传控制及其接收必须紧密配合，尤其是在个体间的性交流中。然而，几乎没有实验证据表明信号的发射和接收之间存在紧密的遗传联系。我们发现，插入果蝇 desat1 基因中的单个基因组转座子同时影响性别特异性信号的发射和感知。这种突变大大减少了两性成熟果蝇角质层上不饱和碳氢化合物的产生。这些物质代表了区分配偶所必需的性信息素：对照雄性无法区分突变 desat1 果蝇的性别。此外，突变雄性无法区分对照果蝇的性信息素。在产生和检测性信息素的外周组织中发现了 desat1 的表达。切除转座子可以挽救生产表型和辨别表型，但这两种效果并不总是一致。这表明信息素的发射和感知是由同一基因的不同产物编码的，反映了desat1的多效性活性。
The evolution of communication is a fundamental biological problem. The genetic control of the signal and its reception must be tightly coadapted, especially in inter-individual sexual communication. However, there is very little experimental evidence for tight genetic linkage connecting the emission of a signal and its reception. We found that a single genomic transposon inserted in the desat1 gene of Drosophila melanogaster simultaneously affected the emission and the perception of sex-specific signals. This mutation greatly decreased the production of unsaturated hydrocarbons on the cuticle of mature flies of both sexes. These substances represent the sex pheromones necessary for mate discrimination: control males could not discriminate the sex of mutant desat1 flies. Moreover, mutant males were unable to discriminate the sex pheromones of control flies. Expression of desat1 was found in the peripheral tissues that produce and detect sex pheromones. Excision of the transposon rescued both the production and discrimination phenotypes, but the two effects did not always coincide. This indicates that the emission and perception of pheromones are coded by different products of the same gene, reflecting the pleiotropic activity of desat1.