Phenotypic plasticity for Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) larval olfactory behaviour in response to whole fruit olfactory stimuli

LAVAGNINO, N; FANARA, JJ

REVISTA DE LA SOCIEDAD ENTOMOLóGICA ARGENTINA

SOCIEDAD ENTOMOLÓGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2011

0373-5680

Drosophila  melanogaster  Meigen  1830  (Diptera: Drosophilidae)  is  the quintessential  insect model organism. However, with a  few  exceptions,  ecological  features  of  this  species  have  been  poorly investigated. In the present work we describe a behavioural assay to quantify olfactory  behaviour  of  D.  melanogaster  larvae  in  response  to  complex olfactory stimuli that are present in the natural environments, i. e.: rotten fruits that act as hosts in nature. Results obtained using this assay reveal that there is intra-population genetic variation and phenotypic plasticity for the character in a natural population from west-central Argentina.