Collaborative Research: Cactophilic Drosophila EpicuticularHydrocarbon System

合作研究：嗜乳果蝇表皮碳氢系统

• 批准号: 8919957
• 负责人: Eric Toolson
• 金额: $ 6.89万
• 依托单位: University of New Mexico
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1990
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1990-03-01 至 1994-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8919957&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Cactophilic; Drosophila; EpicuticularHydrocarbon

Epicuticular hydrocarbons (HC) of insects play an essential role in their adaptation to terrestrial environments because they help decrease cuticle permeability to water, thereby reducing the risk of lethal dehydration. (The cuticle is the external, hardened tissue which surrounds the body of an insect. The epicuticle is the outermost layer of the cuticle.) The epicuticular HC also perform a pheromonal function during courtship and mating of some Drosophila species. The principal investigators have discovered that variation in the epicuticular HC profile of male D. mojavensis is responsible for a large proportion of intermale variation in male success--females mate five times more frequently with males whose epicuticular HC profile is similar to that of males raised at 17o C. The proposed research will examine the relationship between variation in the abiotic and biotic environmental factors (temperature, humidity, diet, etc.) that have been found in laboratory experiments to be responsible for variation in epicuticular HC composition, cuticle permeability, and sexual behavior in D. mojavensis. Data for all three parameters will be obtained both in the lab and in the field under natural conditions, in concert with a detailed assessment of the microhabitat climatological regime encountered by male and female D. mojavensis during the course of their daily activities. Additional field and laboratory experiments will assess the impact of variation in the three parameters on the mating system of D. mojavensis. This research is unique in that it promises to identify a biological trait that plays an important role in individual survival as well as reproduction.

昆虫的表皮碳氢化合物（HC）在适应陆地环境方面发挥着重要作用，因为它们有助于降低角质层对水的渗透性，从而降低致命脱水的风险。 （角质层是围绕昆虫身体的外部硬化组织。表皮是角质层的最外层。）表皮 HC 在某些果蝇物种的求爱和交配过程中也发挥信息素功能。主要研究人员发现，雄性 D. mojavensis 的表皮 HC 谱的变异是造成雄性成功的雄性间变异的主要原因——雌性与表皮 HC 谱与 17°C 下饲养的雄性相似的雄性交配频率是雄性的 5 倍。拟议的研究将检查非生物和生物环境因素（温度、湿度、饮食等）变异之间的关系，这些因素已在 D. mojavensis 中发现。 实验室实验是造成 D. mojavensis 表皮 HC 成分、角质层渗透性和性行为变化的原因。 所有三个参数的数据都将在实验室和自然条件下的野外获得，并结合对雄性和雌性莫哈文斯蜥蜴在日常活动过程中遇到的微生境气候状况的详细评估。 额外的现场和实验室实验将评估这三个参数的变化对 D. mojavensis 交配系统的影响。 这项研究的独特之处在于它有望识别出在个体生存和繁殖中发挥重要作用的生物特征。