Collaborative Research: Cactophilic Drosophila EpicuticularHydrocarbon System

昆虫的表皮碳氢化合物（HC） 在适应陆地环境方面的作用，因为它们 有助于减少角质层渗透水，从而减少 有脱水致死的危险(The角质层是外部的， 昆虫身体周围的坚硬组织。 的 表皮是角质层的最外层。） 的 上表皮HC也执行信息素功能， 一些果蝇物种的求偶和交配。校长 研究人员发现， 雄性D.莫哈韦西斯造成了 雄性成功的雄性间变异比例--雌性交配 5倍更频繁的男性，其上表皮HC 与17 ℃下饲养的雄性相似。 拟议的研究将研究 非生物和生物环境因素的变化 （温度、湿度、饮食等）这些发现于 实验室实验是造成 上表皮HC组成，角质层渗透性，和性 行为在D.莫哈韦西斯。 所有三个参数的数据将 在实验室和野外自然条件下获得 条件，配合详细评估 男女所遇到的小生境气候状况 D.在日常活动中，莫哈韦西人。 额外的现场和实验室实验将评估 三个参数的变化对交配系统的影响 氏盐莫哈韦西斯。 这项研究的独特之处在于它承诺 确定在以下方面起重要作用的生物学特性： 个体生存和繁殖。

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.