The Drosophila female aphrodisiac pheromone activates ppk23(+) sensory neurons to elicit male courtship behavior.

Females of many animal species emit chemical signals that attract and arouse males for mating. For example, the major aphrodisiac pheromone of Drosophila melanogaster females, 7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), is a potent inducer of male-specific courtship and copulatory behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that a set of gustatory sensory neurons on the male foreleg, defined by expression of the ppk23 marker, respond to 7,11-HD. Activity of these neurons is required for males to robustly court females or to court males perfumed with 7,11-HD. Artificial activation of these ppk23(+) neurons stimulates male-male courtship even without 7,11-HD perfuming. These data identify the ppk23(+) sensory neurons as the primary targets for female sex pheromones in Drosophila.

Toda H ，Zhao X ，Dickson BJ 《Cell Reports》

ppk23-Dependent chemosensory functions contribute to courtship behavior in Drosophila melanogaster.

Lu B ，LaMora A ，Sun Y ，Welsh MJ ，Ben-Shahar Y ... -  《PLoS Genetics》

The receptor channel formed by ppk25, ppk29 and ppk23 can sense the Drosophila female pheromone 7,11-heptacosadiene.

In Drosophila, pheromones play a crucial role in regulating courtship behaviors. In males, female aphrodisiac pheromones promote male-female courtship, and male antiaphrodisiac pheromones inhibit male-male courtship. Previous studies have reported that receptor proteins belonging to the pickpocket (ppk) family, ionotropic receptor family and gustatory receptor family are required for pheromone detection and normal courtship. However, none of them has been shown to be sufficient for sensing pheromones after ectopic expression in originally unresponsive cells. "M" cells are activated by male antiaphrodisiac pheromones but not female aphrodisiac pheromones, and the activated cells inhibit male-male courtship. In our study, male flies with ectopic expression of ppk25, ppk29 and ppk23 in "M" cells showed decreased male-female courtship. Using an in vivo calcium imaging approach, we found that the "M" cells expressing these three ppks were significantly activated by the female aphrodisiac pheromone 7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD). Our results indicate that a sodium channel consisting, at minimum, of ppk25, ppk29 and ppk23, can sense 7,11-HD, most likely as a receptor. Our findings may help us gain insights into the molecular mechanisms of pheromonal functions.

Liu T ，Wang Y ，Tian Y ，Zhang J ，Zhao J ，Guo A ... -  《-》

Specialized cells tag sexual and species identity in Drosophila melanogaster.

Billeter JC ，Atallah J ，Krupp JJ ，Millar JG ，Levine JD ... -  《-》

The Drosophila pheromone cVA activates a sexually dimorphic neural circuit.

Datta SR ，Vasconcelos ML ，Ruta V ，Luo S ，Wong A ，Demir E ，Flores J ，Balonze K ，Dickson BJ ，Axel R ... -  《-》