Department of Entomology

Title: " 'Chemical love’ – the genetics of pheromone mating boundaries in Drosophila"

Abstract: Successful mating decisions are essential for the fitness of individuals. In many insect species, the decision with whom to mate depends on information communicated via cuticular pheromones, a complex blend of hydrocarbons and other organic molecules that are released by one animal to be sensed by another. Because mating pheromones must communicate precise and reliable information, the coupling between the production of specific pheromone molecules and their perception by the nervous system are expected to be relatively stable within species. Yet, surprisingly, previous studies have suggested that pheromones are remarkably flexible, and could rapidly evolve as species diversify. One possible explanation for this apparent puzzle is that some pleiotropic genes co-regulate the independent physiological processes responsible for pheromone production and perception. Subsequently, these genes could provide a path for the co-evolution of pheromone signals without losing the functional link between mating signals and their cognate receptors. The Ben-Shahar lab uses D. melanogaster and other Drosophila species to investigate the genetic and neuroethological mechanisms that drive mate choice behaviors, and allow this rapidly evolving group of insects to maintain behavioral mating boundaries between closely related species.