title: Adult Frass Provides a Pheromone Signature for Drosophila Feeding and Aggregation.
abstract: Adult Drosophila melanogaster locate food resources by using distinct olfactory cues that often are associated with the fermentation of fruit. However, in addition to being an odorous food source and providing a possible site for oviposition, fermenting fruit also provides a physical substrate upon which flies can attract and court a potential mate. In this study, we demonstrate that Drosophila adults are able to recruit additional flies to a food source by covering the exposed surface area with fecal spots, and that this recruitment is mediated via olfactory receptors (Ors). Analyses of the deposited frass material demonstrates that frass contains several previously studied pheromone components, such as methyl laurate (ML), methyl myristate (MM), methyl palmitate (MP), and 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA), in addition to several cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) that are known to be behaviorally active. Moreover, this study also demonstrates that adult feeding is increased in the presence of frass, although it appears that Ors are less likely to mediate this phenomenon. In summary, the frass deposited by the fly onto the fruit provides both pheromone and CHC cues that lead to increased feeding and aggregation in Drosophila. This research is the first step in examining Drosophila frass as an important chemical signature that provides information about both the sex and the species of the fly that generated the fecal spots.
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Ian W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Keesey
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koerte
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Retzke
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Haverkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. hansson@ice.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Bill S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany. mknaden@ice.mpg.de.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knaden
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005243:Feces / Q000737:chemistry; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit; D008297:Male; D010675:Pheromones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D010675:Pheromones
keywords: Chemical ecology; Drosophila; Feces; Frass; Gustatory; Insect behavior; Olfactory; Pheromones