Micro-geographical scale variation in Drosophila melanogaster larval olfactory behaviour is associated with host fruits heterogeneity

SATORRE, I.; FANARA, J.J.; LAVAGNINO, N

ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Lugar: Londres; Año: 2014 p. 23 - 30

0013-8703

Organisms utilize environmental cues to deal with heterogeneous environments. In this sense, behaviours that mediate interactions between organisms and their environments are complex traits especially sensitive to environmental conditions. In animals, olfaction is a critical sensory system that allows them to acquire chemical information from the environment. The genetic basis and physiological mechanisms of the Drosophila melanogaster Meigen 1830 (Diptera: Drosophilidae) olfactory system are well known and continue to be studied, but the effects of ecological factors on the olfactory system have been less investigated. In this study we analyzed the effect of environmental heterogeneity (different host fruit) on larval olfactory behaviour variation in a natural population of D. melanogaster. We generated half-sib lines of D. melanogaster derived from two different fruits plantations, Vitis vinifera Linnaei (?grape?) and Prunus persica Linnaei (?peach?) separated by micro-geographical distances and measured, using a simple behavioural assay, larval olfactory response to natural olfactory stimuli. Results indicate that patterns of variation for this trait depend on host fruit plantation where lines were collected. In fact, only lines derived from ?grape? plantation showed phenotypic plasticity for larval olfaction, whereas the genetic factor genotype by environment interaction was detected solely in lines derived from ?peach? plantation. Therefore, our results demonstrate the existence of genetic level differences for D. melanogaster larval olfactory behaviour at a micro-geographical scale and reveal a strong environmentally influenced and dynamic genetic architecture of the trait studied.