Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Tulane Cancer Center, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
Sci Adv. 2023 Jun 30;9(26):eadf6254. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adf6254.
Sexual attraction and perception are crucial for mating and reproductive success. In , the male-specific isoform of Fruitless (Fru), Fru, is a known master neuro-regulator of innate courtship behavior to control the perception of sex pheromones in sensory neurons. Here, we show that the non-sex-specific Fru isoform (Fru) is necessary for pheromone biosynthesis in hepatocyte-like oenocytes for sexual attraction. Loss of Fru in oenocytes resulted in adults with reduced levels of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), including sex pheromones, and show altered sexual attraction and reduced cuticular hydrophobicity. We further identify () as a key target of Fru in directing fatty acid conversion to hydrocarbons. or depletion in oenocytes disrupts lipid homeostasis, resulting in a sex-dimorphic CHC profile that differs from and dependent CHC dimorphism. Thus, Fru couples pheromone perception and production in separate organs to regulate chemosensory communications and ensure efficient mating behavior.
性吸引和感知对于交配和生殖成功至关重要。在果蝇中，雄性特有的 Fru 异构体 Fru 是先天求偶行为的已知神经调节大师，可控制感觉神经元对性信息素的感知。在这里，我们表明非性特异的 Fru 异构体 Fru 对于性吸引的肝细胞样 oenocytes 中的信息素生物合成是必需的。oenocytes 中 Fru 的缺失导致成虫的表皮碳氢化合物 (CHC) 水平降低，包括性信息素，并表现出改变的性吸引力和降低的表皮疏水性。我们进一步确定 () 作为 Fru 指导脂肪酸转化为碳氢化合物的关键靶标。oenocytes 中 或 的耗竭破坏了脂质平衡，导致性别二态性 CHC 图谱与 和依赖的 CHC 二态性不同。因此，Fru 将感知和产生信息素的功能分别耦合到不同的器官中，以调节化学感官通讯并确保有效的交配行为。
