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- Title
Natural Diversity of Cuticular Pheromones in a Local Population of Drosophila after Laboratory Acclimation.
- Authors
Ferveur, Jean-François; Cortot, Jérôme; Cobb, Matthew; Everaerts, Claude
- Abstract
Simple Summary: Insects are covered with chemicals called hydrocarbons that are involved in chemical communication (mainly in mating) as well as in preventing the insect from drying out and protecting it from harmful environmental factors. Although we know a great deal about these molecules in laboratory strains, little is known about their variation and evolution in nature. We studied Drosophila melanogaster flies from Dijon, France, which we captured using traps baited with various fruits. We set up lines from these flies and studied their hydrocarbons on capture and after up to 40 generations in the laboratory. We initially observed a lot of natural variability, but this soon became more limited as the strains adapted to life in the laboratory. In some of the lines, females flies had a hydrocarbon profile previously seen only in tropical populations: this may indicate that this globally distributed species is adapting to increased temperatures caused by climate change. These hydrocarbons can be used as sensitive markers of climate change, as long as they are studied before insects become adapted to laboratory conditions. Experimental studies of insects are often based on strains raised for many generations in constant laboratory conditions. However, laboratory acclimation could reduce species diversity reflecting adaptation to varied natural niches. Hydrocarbons covering the insect cuticle (cuticular hydrocarbons; CHCs) are reliable adaptation markers. They are involved in dehydration reduction and protection against harmful factors. CHCs can also be involved in chemical communication principally related to reproduction. However, the diversity of CHC profiles in nature and their evolution in the laboratory have rarely been investigated. Here, we sampled CHC natural diversity in Drosophila melanogaster flies from a particular location in a temperate region. We also measured cis-Vaccenyl acetate, a male-specific volatile pheromone. After trapping flies using varied fruit baits, we set up 21 D. melanogaster lines and analysed their pheromones at capture and after 1 to 40 generations in the laboratory. Under laboratory conditions, the broad initial pheromonal diversity found in male and female flies rapidly changed and became more limited. In some females, we detected CHCs only reported in tropical populations: the presence of flies with a novel CHC profile may reflect the rapid adaptation of this cosmopolitan species to global warming in a temperate area.
- Subjects
DIJON (France); SEMIOCHEMICALS; DROSOPHILA; DROSOPHILA melanogaster; PHEROMONES; SPECIES diversity; GLOBAL warming; ACCLIMATIZATION
- Publication
Insects (2075-4450), 2024, Vol 15, Issue 4, p273
- ISSN
2075-4450
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/insects15040273