Larval pupation site preference and its relationship to the glue proteins in a few species ofDrosophila

Abstract

The pupation site preference and the quantity of larval salivary gland secretion proteins (glue proteins) were analysed in 15 species of Drosophila belonging to 3 species groups. The results showed that even under constant environmental conditions, the larvae of different species prefer to pupate at different sites in various proportions. Three patterns of pupation site preference could be recognized on the basis of the preponderance of larvae pupating at different sites. The classification of different species of Drosophila under study into 3 pattern groups does not correspond with their taxonomic classification. The larvae of those species that synthesize large quantities of glue protein tend to pupate in the medium, while those synthesizing half the quantity of glue proteins pupate on the sides of the container (glass wall). The quantity of glue protein is not correlated with the size of the salivary glands.

Larval pupation site preference on fruit in different species of Drosophila

“…Closely related sibling species D. melanogaster , D. simulans , D. yakuba and D. mauritiana , belonging to the melanogaster subgroup species; D. ananassae , D. bipectinata , D. malerkotliana and D. rajasekari , belonging to the ananassae subgroup of the melanogaster species group; D. virilis and D. novamexicana of the virilis group; and D. hydei of the repleta species group were all received from the Drosophila stock centre, University of Mysore, Mysore, India (these had been maintained for approximately 20 years), to study larval PSP following the method described by Shivanna et al . (1996) (Bock & Wheelar 1972;Ehrman 1978;Ranganath et al .…”

“…After hatching of eggs, first instar larvae (50) were removed and seeded carefully inside the glass vials (10 cm length, 3.8 cm diameter) and stoppered with cotton plugs containing an equal quantity of fruit (1.5-2 cm). Wheat cream agar was used as a control (Shivanna et al . 1996).…”

“…PSP has been studied in different species of Drosophila by counting the number of larvae pupating on different sites such as cotton, glass and food (Barker 1971;Shirk et al . 1988;Shivanna et al . 1996;Shivanna & Ramesh 1997;Vandal et al .…”

Accessory gland secretory proteins in relation to fitness parameters of Drosophila ananassae and D. varians

“…Wheat cream agar medium was prepared as per the procedure described by Shivanna et al (1996). Approximately 100 g of jaggery (sugar molasses) was dissolved in 1 L of boiling distilled water; 100 g of wheat cream was added and the solution was allowed to boil.…”

Larval salivary glue protein heterosis and dosage compensation among the interspecific F1 hybrids of Drosophila nasuta nasuta and Drosophila nasuta albomicans

“…Various species/subspecies of this subgroup have been used to study salivary glue proteins which are a set of sticky glycoproteins secreted by the larval salivary glands in Drosophila that affix the puparium to a solid substratum prior to pupariation (Beckendorf and Kafatos, 1976;Korge, 1977;Ramesh and Kalisch, 1988;Shivanna and Ramesh, 1995;Shivanna et al, 1996;Zajonz et al, 1996;Ramesh and Shivanna, 1998;Aruna and Ranganath, 2006). These proteins are also believed to possess functions in providing insect immunity (Korayem et al, 2004;Syed et al, 2008;Mitchell et al, 2014).…”