Flexible origin of hydrocarbon/pheromone precursors in Drosophila melanogaster.
In terrestrial insects, cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) provide protection from desiccation. Specific CHCs can also act as pheromones, which are important for successful mating. Oenocytes are abdominal cells thought to act as specialized units for CHC biogenesis that consists of long-chain fatty acid (LCFA) synthesis, optional desaturation(s), elongation to very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFAs), and removal of the carboxyl group. By investigating CHC biogenesis in Drosophila melanogaster, we showed that VLCFA synthesis takes place only within the oenocytes. Conversely, several pathways, which may compensate for one another, can feed the oenocyte pool of LCFAs, suggesting that this step is a critical node for regulating CHC synthesis. Importantly, flies deficient in LCFA synthesis sacrificed their triacylglycerol stores while maintaining some CHC production. Moreover, pheromone production was lower in adult flies that emerged from larvae that were fed excess dietary lipids, and their mating success was lower. Further, we showed that pheromone production in the oenocytes depends on lipid metabolism in the fat tissue and that fatty acid transport protein, a bipartite acyl-CoA synthase (ACS)/FA transporter, likely acts through its ACS domain in the oenocyte pathway of CHC biogenesis. Our study highlights the importance of environmental and physiological inputs in regulating LCFA synthesis to eventually control sexual communication in a polyphagous animal.
Laboratoire Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS Université Paris-Sud, UMR 9191, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Claude
C
Wicker-Thomas
Institut for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, CEA, UMR 9198, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Damien
D
Garrido
Laboratoire Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS Université Paris-Sud, UMR 9191, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Gwénaëlle
G
Bontonou
Institut for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, CEA, UMR 9198, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Laura
L
Napal
Laboratoire Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS Université Paris-Sud, UMR 9191, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Nicolas
N
Mazuras
Laboratoire Evolution, Génomes, Comportement et Ecologie, CNRS Université Paris-Sud, UMR 9191, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Béatrice
B
Denis
Institut for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, CEA, UMR 9198, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Thomas
T
Rubin
Institut for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, CEA, UMR 9198, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UFR 927, F-75005, Paris, France.
Jean-Philippe
JP
Parvy
Institut for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), CNRS, Université Paris-Sud, CEA, UMR 9198, F-91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Jacques
J
Montagne
D000818:Animals; D053898:Biosynthetic Pathways; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism*; D005216:Fat Body / Q000378:metabolism; D054890:Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I / Q000378:metabolism; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D066292:Lipid Droplets / Q000378:metabolism; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D010675:Pheromones / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D018110:Receptors, Lipoprotein / Q000378:metabolism; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism
D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids; D010675:Pheromones; D018110:Receptors, Lipoprotein; D014280:Triglycerides; D054890:Fatty Acid Synthase, Type I
fatty acid metabolism; gene expression; genetics; homeostasis; lipid droplets; lipoprotein receptors; nutrition; triglycerides