title: Sex-specific triacylglycerides are widely conserved in Drosophila and mediate mating behavior.
abstract: Pheromones play an important role in the behavior, ecology, and evolution of many organisms. The structure of many insect pheromones typically consists of a hydrocarbon backbone, occasionally modified with various functional oxygen groups. Here we show that sex-specific triacylclyerides (TAGs) are broadly conserved across the subgenus Drosophila in 11 species and represent a novel class of pheromones that has been largely overlooked. In desert-adapted drosophilids, 13 different TAGs are secreted exclusively by males from the ejaculatory bulb, transferred to females during mating, and function synergistically to inhibit courtship from other males. Sex-specific TAGs are comprised of at least one short branched tiglic acid and a long linear fatty acyl component, an unusual structural motif that has not been reported before in other natural products. The diversification of chemical cues used by desert-adapted Drosophila as pheromones may be related to their specialized diet of fermenting cacti.
authors.affiliation: Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jacqueline S R
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chin
authors.forename: Shane R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.forename: Huong T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.forename: Stephen J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blanksby
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Qi Ling
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Etges
authors.forename: Joanne Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Yew
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003437:Crotonates / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism; D003889:Desert Climate; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000737:chemistry / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D045782:Hemiterpenes; D008297:Male; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010675:Pheromones / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003437:Crotonates; D045782:Hemiterpenes; D010675:Pheromones; D014280:Triglycerides; C009489:tiglic acid
keywords: D. arizonae; D. mojavensis; behavior; laser desorption ionzation; mass spectrometry; ozone-induced dissociation