Differences in wing melanization and pigmentation pattern in Drosophila buzzatii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) under chemical stress

MONGIARDINO, NICOLÁS; ESTEBAN HASSON,; SOTO, IM

REVISTA DE LA SOCIEDAD ENTOMOLóGICA ARGENTINA

SOCIEDAD ENTOMOLÓGICA ARGENTINA

Lugar: Mendoza; Año: 2012 vol. 71 p. 87 - 97

0373-5680

Recently, the genetic basis and developmental mechanisms underlying the process of melanization have become progressively elucidated, allowing us to study the evolutionary processes that govern the huge variability of pigmentation observed in nature. However, environmental factors contributing to such variability have received little attention, even though they might have profound ecological consequences. Here we describe a method for analyzing the wing melanization patterns of drosophilids in both qualitative and quantitative ways. We test this method on wings of Drosophila buzzatii Patterson & Wheeler individuals, reared in control and alkaloid-enriched mediums. The alkaloids were extracted from the secondary host of these flies, Echinopsis terscheckii (Parm. ex Pfeiff.) Friedrich & Rowley, and their effect on wing pigmentation is analyzed, bearing in mind the adverse effects that these compounds have on the development of D. buzzatii. Alkaloid-reared flies were shown to attain a higher degree of wing melanization, accompanied with differences in the spatial distribution of the pigment. Modifications at both metabolic and gene regulatory levels are proposed to explain the changes that chemical stressful conditions are shown to induce in this character. We propose the utilization of this procedure in studies of environmental dependence of pigmentation.