ABSTRACT
Pheromones and the mechanisms to detect them have evolved to transmit biologically relevant information from one member of a species to another, often with miniscule amounts of chemical. In Drosophila, the fatty acid pheromone 11-cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) is a male-specific pheromone that functions as a courtship cue to ensure an appropriate partner is selected for mating. However, cVA also underlies other behaviors including aggression and aggregation. A specialized population of sensory neurons tuned solely to cVA mediates the detection of cVA pheromone. These neurons express a unique set of signal transduction machinery essential for detection of
7.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................230 7.1.1 Drosophila melanogaster as a Volatile Pheromone
Model System ................................................................................ 230 7.1.2 Drosophila Olfactory Anatomy ........................................................ 232 7.1.3 Drosophila Odorant Receptor (Or) Family ...................................... 235 7.1.4 Drosophila Odorant Binding Proteins .............................................. 235 7.1.5 Gene Products Underlying cVA Pheromone Detection
in Drosophila .................................................................................... 236 7.1.6 LUSH OBP ....................................................................................... 237 7.1.7 SNMP ............................................................................................... 241
7.2 cVA-Induced Behaviors ................................................................................ 243 7.2.1 Courtship .......................................................................................... 243 7.2.2 Aggregation ......................................................................................245 7.2.3 Aggression ........................................................................................245
