Reproductive ecology of Drosophila

Abstract

Summary 1.Species of the genus Drosophila reproduce in a wide range of different resources, including fruits, sap, flowers, mushrooms and cacti. Drosophila species and their resources also exhibit considerable variability in geographic distribution. 2. Habitat and resource differences pose enormous challenges for Drosophila species. Host chemistry may include highly toxic compounds and breeding sites may be characterized by extreme abiotic conditions such as high and/or low temperature and humidity. 3. Drosophila reproductive biology, in terms of morphology, physiology, and behaviour, is as variable among Drosophila species as is their resource use. In some species, adults are ready to reproduce upon emergence, whereas one sex or the other in other species may require weeks to become sexually mature. 4. Already a robust system for transmission and population genetic studies, the sequencing of the genomes of 12 diverse Drosophila species now brings the power of genomics to investigators wishing to understand the functional aspects of Drosophila ecology

Agar-polydimethylsiloxane devices for quantitative investigation of oviposition behaviour of adult Drosophila melanogaster

“…1,[12][13][14] Oviposition is the process of egg-laying in D. melanogaster that is dependent on responses of the fly to environmental stimuli (such as chemicals, physical conditions of the substrate, temperature, light, population density, and humidity). [15][16][17][18][19] D. melanogaster possesses sensory neurons (such as taste 20,21 and touch 22,23 sensing systems) to detect various environmental cues prior to selecting preferred sites for oviposition and egg laying. [15][16][17][18][19] Therefore, oviposition is used as a metric quantity to provide a clear indication of flies' sensory system health and their overall fitness (the ability to survive and reproduce).…”

“…[15][16][17][18][19] D. melanogaster possesses sensory neurons (such as taste 20,21 and touch 22,23 sensing systems) to detect various environmental cues prior to selecting preferred sites for oviposition and egg laying. [15][16][17][18][19] Therefore, oviposition is used as a metric quantity to provide a clear indication of flies' sensory system health and their overall fitness (the ability to survive and reproduce). 24,25 It is used predominately in developmental, 26 chemical screening, 27 and toxicology 28,29 studies as a simple and effective readout indicator.…”

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“…Most Drosophila, including the cosmopolitan species, lay eggs in decaying organic materials such as compost, overripe or rotting produce; others breed in live or decaying fungi, dung, slime or sap fluxes of trees, cacti, or flowering plants (Bächli et al, 2004;Carson, 1971;Markow & O'Grady, 2008). The Oriental species Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) and Drosophila subpulchrella Takamori and Watabe are exceptional in that they oviposit in healthy whole fruit (Matsumura, 1931).…”

Functional loss of yeast detectors parallels transition to herbivory

“…Attraction to the flies' main food source (yeast) is thus to a large degree governed by these odorants and the involved receptors (7)(8)(9)(10). However, some fly species of the genus Scaptomyza (Drosophilidae) have switched their food preference dramatically from microbes to leaves and stems of living angiosperms (11). As this shift in preference has evolved only recently and as the now herbivorous flies are phylogenetically closely related to the genomically most well-characterized and genetically tractable species on earth, D. melongaster, leaf mining Scaptomyza present an excellent model to study the genomic and functional basis of the evolution of herbivory in insects.…”