Abstract
Pheromones are chemical signals that induce innate responses in individuals of the same species that may vary with physiological and developmental state. In Drosophila melanogaster, the most intensively studied pheromone is 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), which is synthezised in the male ejaculatory bulb and is transferred to the female during copulation. Among other effects, cVA inhibits male courtship of mated females. We found that male courtship inhibition depends on the amount of cVA and this effect is reduced in male flies derived from eggs covered with low to zero levels of cVA. This effect is not observed if the eggs are washed, or if the eggs are laid several days after copulation. This suggests that courtship suppression involves a form of pre-imaginal conditioning, which we show occurs during the early larval stage. The conditioning effect could not be rescued by synthetic cVA, indicating that it largely depends on conditioning by cVA and other maternally-transmitted factor(s). These experiments suggest that one of the primary behavioral effects of cVA is more plastic and less stereotypical than had hitherto been realised.
Highlights
Pheromones, first identified as chemicals that release a certain behaviour or physiological response (Karlson & Butenandt, 1959), have recently been more precisely defined as chemical signals that induce innate stereotypical responses in individuals of the same species (Wyatt, 2015)
When no cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) was present below the mating chamber, control males courted females with a high frequency (85%) and a strong courtship index (CI = 0.34 ± 0.02); in the presence of 600 ng cVA these figures declined to 40% courtship and a CI = 0.07 ± 0.02
Maximum courtship suppression was induced with 600 ng, and 50% inhibition was observed with 350 ng; subsequent tests were performed with these two cVA doses
Summary
Pheromones, first identified as chemicals that release a certain behaviour or physiological response (Karlson & Butenandt, 1959), have recently been more precisely defined as chemical signals that induce innate stereotypical responses in individuals of the same species (Wyatt, 2015). One of the most intensely studied pheromones is the Drosophila sex pheromone, 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA). This compound induces sex-specific effects when it is transferred from males to females during mating, and introduced into the food substrate during egg-laying. This lipid-derived compound, which is produced in the male ejaculatory bulb, inhibits male courtship of mated females, renders food more attractive to males and females, stimulates females to mate and plays a role in inducing male-male aggression
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