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First published online October 7, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 3927-3933 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01236

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A set of female pheromones affects reproduction before, during and after mating in Drosophila

Fabrice Marcillac and Jean-François Ferveur^*

Unité de Recherche 5548 Associée au Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Bourgogne, 6, Boulevard Gabriel, 21 000 Dijon, France

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: jean-francois.ferveur{at}u-bourgogne.fr)

Accepted 10 August 2004

Sex pheromones are chemical signals used for mate attraction and discrimination in many invertebrate species. These compounds are often complex mixtures with different components having different effects. We tested live Drosophila melanogaster mutant female flies genetically depleted for unsaturated cuticular hydrocarbons, which were then perfumed with these substances to measure their influence on various aspects of reproduction. Female pheromones of the control Cs strain enhanced female attractivity, copulation duration and tended to decrease the number of female progeny of mutant females mated with Cs males, but no dose-dependent effect was found. Cs and variant males showed different response to Cs female pheromone, suggesting a strain-specific coadaptation of female and male characters. The fact that female pheromones induced reciprocal effects on the frequency of the genes contributed by females and males suggests that these substances regulate coevolutionary processes between the sexes.

Key words: sex pheromone, copulation duration, pheromonal communication, Drosophila, desat1

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