Sensory asymmetries in the olfactory system underlie sexual pheromone communication in the cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea.
In most insect species, males process female sex pheromone information in specific macroglomeruli in the olfactory lobes of their brains. The purpose of this report is to present a novel system of pheromone perception. In Nauphoeta cinerea cockroaches, males produce sex pheromones that induce mating behavior in females but neither sex has macroglomeruli. In this study, we show that female N. cinerea show asymmetry in the number of glomeruli whereas males do not. Females have more glomeruli on the right side and amputation of the right antenna reduced female ability to find a male and mate whereas amputation of the left antenna did not. We show that a key factor in female mating behavior is perception of the male sex pheromone seducin by the right antenna and the asymmetrically organized deutocerebral glomeruli associated with it. In the symmetrical olfactory system of males the detection of seducin may be involved in establishing dominance hierarchies.
Sreng
Leam
L
CNRS, INPC (Institut de Neurosciences Physiologiques et Cognitives), 31 Chemin Joseph Aiguier, 13402, Marseille Cedex 20, France. sreng@lnb.cnrs-mrs.fr
D000819:Animal Communication; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012724:Sex Attractants / Q000502:physiology*; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*
D012724:Sex Attractants