Abstract
Insects use a spectacular variety of chemical signals to guide their social behaviours. How such chemical diversity arises is a long-standing problem in evolutionary biology. Here we describe the contribution of the fatty acid elongase Bond to both pheromone diversity and male fertility in Drosophila. Genetic manipulation and mass spectrometry analysis reveal that the loss of bond eliminates the male sex pheromone (3R,11Z,19Z)-3-acetoxy-11,19-octacosadien-1-ol (CH503). Unexpectedly, silencing bond expression severely suppresses male fertility and the fertility of conspecific rivals. These deficits are rescued on ectopic expression of bond in the male reproductive system. A comparative analysis across six Drosophila species shows that the gain of a novel transcription initiation site is correlated with bond expression in the ejaculatory bulb, a primary site of male pheromone production. Taken together, these results indicate that modification of cis-regulatory elements and subsequent changes in gene expression pattern is one mechanism by which pheromone diversity arises.
Highlights
Insects use a spectacular variety of chemical signals to guide their social behaviours
We show that jamesbond, which encodes a very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) elongase, is expressed in the ejaculatory bulb (EB) and male reproductive organs and plays an essential role in the synthesis of the male sex pheromone CH503 and male fertility
The elongase Bond was identified as part of a RNA interference (RNAi) screen to discover genes that contribute to the biosynthesis of pheromones in the EB
Summary
Insects use a spectacular variety of chemical signals to guide their social behaviours. A comparative analysis across six Drosophila species shows that the gain of a novel transcription initiation site is correlated with bond expression in the ejaculatory bulb, a primary site of male pheromone production. Taken together, these results indicate that modification of cis-regulatory elements and subsequent changes in gene expression pattern is one mechanism by which pheromone diversity arises. We show that jamesbond ( known as bond), which encodes a very-long-chain fatty acid (VLCFA) elongase, is expressed in the EB and male reproductive organs and plays an essential role in the synthesis of the male sex pheromone CH503 and male fertility. A comparative analysis across six species of Drosophila shows that the gain of a novel transcription initiation site is correlated with a gain of bond expression in the EB, enabling the production of more complex pheromone mixtures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
