Watanabe Kazuki, Suzuki Yuki, Inami Show, Ohashi Hirono, Sakai Takaomi
Department of Biological Sciences, Tokyo Metropolitan University.
Genes Genet Syst. 2018 Oct 30;93(3):119-123. doi: 10.1266/ggs.18-00004. Epub 2018 Jul 11.
In many animal species, females choose potential mating partners according to their own preferences. Thus, female preference-based mate choice affects intraspecific mating success and prevents interspecific mating. To clarify the neuronal basis of female mate choice, it is essential to identify the important relevant sensory cues. In the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, the courtship song of males promotes female sexual receptivity. When wild-type virgin females can freely choose one of two types of courting males (winged or wingless males), they prefer to mate with winged males. Here, we report a crucial sensory cue relevant to this female mate choice. In a female choice test, female receptivity toward winged and wingless males was markedly reduced when females had auditory impairments, although females with visual or olfactory impairments showed normal receptivity similar to wild-type females. However, females with visual impairments did not show clear mate preference toward winged males. Thus, these findings suggest that females utilize visual cues in mate choice between winged and wingless males in Drosophila.
在许多动物物种中，雌性会根据自身偏好选择潜在的交配对象。因此，基于雌性偏好的配偶选择会影响种内交配成功率，并防止种间交配。为了阐明雌性配偶选择的神经基础，识别重要的相关感官线索至关重要。在果蝇黑腹果蝇中，雄性的求偶歌声会提高雌性的性接受度。当野生型处女雌蝇可以自由选择两种求偶雄性（有翅或无翅雄性）中的一种时，它们更倾向于与有翅雄性交配。在此,我们报告了一个与这种雌性配偶选择相关的关键感官线索。在一项雌性选择测试中,当雌蝇有听觉障碍时,它们对有翅和无翅雄性的接受度会显著降低, 尽管有视觉或嗅觉障碍的雌蝇表现出与野生型雌蝇相似的正常接受度。然而，有视觉障碍的雌蝇对有翅雄性并没有表现出明显的配偶偏好。因此，这些发现表明，在果蝇中，雌性在有翅和无翅雄性之间的配偶选择中利用视觉线索。
