Biology subjects

Borrero-Echeverry, F.

Publications and source records attributed to Borrero-Echeverry, F..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Z4-11Al mediates olfactory attraction and courtship in Drosophila melanogaster

Specific mate communication and recognition underlies reproduction and hence speciation. Mate communication evolves during adaptation to ecological niches and makes use of social signals and habitat cues. Our study provides new insights in Drosophila melanogaster premating olfactory communication, showing that female pheromone (Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al) and male pheromone cVA interact with food odour in a sex-specific manner. Furthermore, Z4-11Al, which mediates upwind flight attraction in both sexes, also elicits courtship in experienced males. Twin variants of the olfactory receptor Or69a are co-expressed in the same olfactory sensory neurons, and feed into the same glomerulus in the antennal lobe. Z4-11Al is perceived via Or69aB, while the food odorant (R)-linalool is a main ligand for the other variant, Or69aA. That Z4-11Al mediates courtship in experienced males, not (R)- linalool, is probably due to courtship learning. Behavioural discrimination is reflected by calcium imaging of the antennal lobe, showing distinct glomerular activation patterns by these two compounds. Male sex pheromone cVA is known to affect male and female courtship at close range, but does not elicit upwind flight attraction as a single compound, in to contrast to Z4-11Al. A blend of cVA and the food odour vinegar attracted females, while a blend of female pheromone Z4-11Al and vinegar attracted males instead. Sex-specific upwind flight attraction to blends of food volatiles and male and female pheromone, respectively, adds a new element to Drosophila olfactory premating communication and is an unambiguous paradigm for identifying the behaviourally active components, towards a more complete concept of food-pheromone odour objects. SummaryThe female-produced, species-specific volatile pheromone of D. melanogaster attracts both sexes from a distance, alone and in concert with food odorants, and elicits courtship in experienced males.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2020

Vector manipulation by a semi-persistent plant virus through disease symptom expression

The greenhouse whitefly (GWF), Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is rarely associated with potato plants yet is the only known vector of the Potato yellow vein virus (PYVV). A host shift related with vectors cognition often requires neural alterations by the virus. However, PYVV, being semi-persistent, is not supposed to directly affect vector physiology. As such, we propose that changes in potato plants caused by PYVV infection should manipulate insect behaviour to increase transmission. Here, we studied the effect of PYVV infection and symptom expression on GWF biological parameters, and attraction towards infected and uninfected potato plants. We compared survival and development rates of GWF nymphs fed with PYVV-infected plants (symptomatic and asymptomatic) and healthy plants under controlled conditions. We also carried out free-choice tests to determine host preference of GWF adults as a function of PYVV infection and disease symptom expression. We found that PYVV infection (both symptomatic and asymptomatic) reduce GWF survival while increasing development time (in symptomatic plants). Combined, a prolonged development time and reduced survival should favour viral uptake and trigger migration of vectors from symptomatic plants short after acquiring the virus. We also found that symptom expression (yellowing) causes significantly greater GWF attraction and establishment compared to healthy or asymptomatic plants. Interestingly, we found that GWF adults that have previously fed on infected plants switch their host preference choosing and establishing on healthy potato plants, which clearly increases horizontal transmission rates. The mechanism through which this behavioural manipulation takes place is not yet well understood. Our results show that symptoms associated with PYVV infection may account for a set of behavioural modifications that make an improbable vector, such as the GWF, into an efficient agent that increases horizontal transmission rates of PYVV. HighlightsO_LIPYVD reduces the survival of GWF and increases development time when symptoms occur C_LIO_LIPYVD symptom makes potato, a non-host plant, attractive to GWF C_LIO_LIAfter feeding on infected plants, GWF preference changes to prefer uninfected plants C_LIO_LIPYVV modulates GWF behaviour to enhance horizontal transmission between plants C_LI

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2019

Yeast volatomes differentially effect larval feeding in an insect herbivore

Yeasts form mutualistic interactions with insects. Hallmarks of this interaction include provision of essential nutrients, while insects facilitate yeast dispersal and growth on plant substrates. A phylogenetically ancient, chemical dialogue coordinates this interaction, where the vocabulary, the volatile chemicals that mediate the insect response, remains largely unknown. Here, we employed gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), followed by hierarchical cluster (HCA) and orthogonal partial least square discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), to profile the volatomes of six Metschnikowia spp., Cryptococcus nemorosus and brewers yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeasts, which are all found in association with insects feeding on foliage or fruit, emit characteristic, species-specific volatile blends that reflect the phylogenetic context. Species-specificity of these volatome profiles aligned with differential feeding of cotton leafworm larvae Spodoptera littoralis on these yeasts. Bioactivity correlates with yeast ecology; phylloplane species elicited a stronger response than fruit yeasts, and larval discrimination may provide a mechanism for establishment of insect-yeast associations. The yeast volatomes contained a suite of insect attractants known from plant and especially floral headspace, including (Z)-hexenyl acetate, ethyl (2E,4Z)-deca-2,4-dienoate (pear ester), (3E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene (DMNT), linalool, -terpineol, {beta}-myrcene or (E,E)-a-farnesene. A wide overlap of yeast and plant volatiles, notably floral scents further emphasizes the prominent role of yeasts in plant-microbe-insect relationships including pollination. The knowledge of insect-yeast interactions can be readily brought to practical application, live yeasts or yeast metabolites mediating insect attraction provide an ample toolbox for the development of sustainable insect management.\n\nIMPORTANCEYeasts interface insect herbivores with their food plants. Communication depends on volatile metabolites, and decoding this chemical dialogue is key to understanding the ecology of insect-yeast interactions. This study explores the volatomes of eight yeast species which have been isolated from foliage, flowers or fruit, and from plant-feeding insects. They each release a rich bouquet of volatile metabolites, including a suite of known insect attractants from plant and floral scent. This overlap underlines the phylogenetic dimension of insect-yeast associations, which according to the fossil record, long predate the appearance of flowering plants. Volatome composition is characteristic for each species, aligns with yeast taxonomy, and is further reflected by a differential behavioural response of cotton leafworm larvae, which naturally feed on foliage of a wide spectrum of broad-leaved plants. Larval discrimination may establish and maintain associations with yeasts and is also a substrate for designing sustainable insect management techniques.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Plant odour and sex pheromone are integral elements of specific mate recognition in an insect herbivore

Specific mate recognition strongly relies on the chemical senses in many animals, and especially in nocturnal insects. Two signal types lend to premating olfactory communication in terrestrial habitats: sex signals blend into an atmosphere of habitat odorants, where plant volatiles prevail. We show for the first time that males of the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis perceive female sex pheromone and volatiles of its plant host cotton as a unit, rather than as independent messages. In clean air, S. littoralis males are attracted to flawed pheromone signals, such as single synthetic pheromone components or even the pheromone of a sibling species, Oriental leafworm S. litura. Presence of host plant volatiles, however, strongly reduces the male response to deficient or heterospecific pheromone signals. That plant cues enhance discrimination of sex pheromone quality confirms the idea that specific mate recognition in noctuid moths has evolved in concert with host plant adaptation. A participation of host plant odour in sexual communication suggests that mate recognition is under natural and sexual selection. Moreover, shifts in either female host preference or sex pheromone biosynthesis give rise to new communication channels that have the potential to initiate or contribute to reproductive isolation.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

The scent of the fly

(Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al) is the volatile pheromone produced by females of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster. Female flies emit Z4-11Al for species-specific communication and mate-finding. A sensory panel finds that synthetic Z4-11Al has a characteristic flavour, which we perceive even at the small amounts produced by one female fly. Since only females produce Z4-11Al, and not males, we can reliably distinguish between single D. melanogaster males and females, according to their scent. Females release Z4-11Al at 2.4 ng/h and we readily sense 1 ng synthetic Z4-11Al in a glass of wine (0.03 nmol/L), while a tenfold concentration is perceived as a loud off-flavour. This corroborates the observation that a glass of wine is spoilt by a single D. melanogaster fly falling into it, which we here show is caused by Z4-11Al. The biological role of Z4-11Al or structurally related aldehydes in humans and the basis for this semiochemical convergence remains yet unclear.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2016

The Drosophila pheromone Z4-11Al is encoded together with habitat olfactory cues and mediates species-specific communication

Mate recognition in animals evolves during niche adaptation and involves habitat and social olfactory signals. Drosophila melanogaster is attracted to fermenting fruit for feeding and egg-laying. We show that, in addition, female flies release a pheromone (Z)4-undecenal (Z4-11Al), that elicits flight attraction in both sexes. The biosynthetic precursor of Z4-11Al is the cuticular hydrocarbon (Z,Z)-7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), which is known to afford reproductive isolation between D. melanogaster and D. simulans. A pair of alternatively spliced receptors, Or69aB and Or69aA, is tuned to Z4-11Al and to food olfactory cues, respectively. These receptors are co-expressed in the same olfactory sensory neurons, and feed into a neural circuit mediating species-specific, long-range communication: the close relative D. simulans does not respond. That Or69aA and Or69aB have adopted dual olfactory traits highlights the interplay of habitat and social signals in mate finding. These olfactory receptor genes afford a collaboration between natural and sexual selection, which has the potential to drive phylogenetic divergence.

animal behavior and cognition↗