Copulatory vocalizations of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus), gibbons (Hylobates hoolock), and humans

The copulatory vocalizations of female baboons (Papio ursinus) are more complex than those of female gibbons (Hylobates hoolock) or human females. Adult males of all these species begin calling later than the female, but subordinate baboon males do not call. Copulatory vocalizations may serve to mutually stimulate the mating partners or to incite male competition.     

Hawaiian courtship songs: evolutionary innovation in communication signals of Drosophila

In Hawaii, flies of the genus Drosophila have undergone spectacular adaptive radiation, resulting in the evolution of more than 500 species of Drosophila that are found nowhere else on earth. This taxonomic uniqueness is reflected in behavior and morphology. Hawaiian Drosophila sing songs, as do continental Drosophila; however, the Hawaiian songs have diverged strongly in form and mechanism of production. The click-song of D. fasciculisetae's (Maui) has a carrier frequency an order of magnitude higher than those reported in familiar continental species, such as D. melanogaster (170 hertz). Drosophila fasciculisetae's song resembles a cicada's more than a fly's song. The song of D. cyrtoloma (Maui) has a complex pulse rhythm more typical of crickets than flies. The pulse song of D. silvestris (Hawaii) closely resembles that of D. melanogaster in both pulse rhythm and carrier frequency, but D. melanogaster sings by vibrating its wings, whereas D. silvestris sings through abdominal vibrations. These mechanisms are radical departures from the continental wing song mechanism and are further examples of the remarkable behavioral innovation that has occurred in the Drosophila of Hawaii during their evolutionary transit through these islands.     

Competition Among Courting Male Moths: Male-to-Male Inhibitory Pheromone

The behavioral function of a pheromone released by males of the army-worm moth Pseudaletia unipuncta was investigated both in laboratory wind-tunnel experiments and in experiments with moth-baited traps in the field. Such male moth scents have been thought to act at close range as sexual stimulants for females of the same species. However, the only obvious effect of the P. unipuncta male pheromone was upon other males, decreasing their tendency to approach sexually receptive, pheromone-releasing females and to exhibit copulatory behavior when near those females. The adaptive significance of the male pheromone may be related to the increased reproductive efficiency that results if multiple males are prevented from competing for a single female.     

Esterase 6 and reproduction in Drosophila melanogaster

A nonspecific carboxylesterase (esterase 6) of Drosophila melanogaster shows greater activity in adult males than in females and is highly concentrated in the anterior ejaculatory duct of the reproductive tract of the male. Esterase 6 is depleted in males by copulation and is transferred to females early during copulation as a component of the seminal fluid. That esterase 6 may be involved in a system controlling the timing of remating is suggested by differences in the activity of this enzyme in a strain of Drosophila selected for a decrease in time to remating and by differences in the timing of remating in females initially inseminated by males lacking or having active esterase 6.     

Interspecific genetic control of courtship song production and reception in Drosophila

The genetic control of courtship song differences between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans males was investigated by producing hybrids from reciprocal crosses. The song rhythm difference between the parental species appears to be due to sex-linked genes, whereas the basic interpulse-interval difference is autosomally inherited. Hybrid females show selective preferences for artificially generated songs carrying intermediate "hybrid" characteristics.     

Testis-specific and sex-associated hexokinases in Drosophila melanogaster

Hexokinases of Drosophila melanogaster were investigated by starchgel electrophoresis. A hexokinase is present in both sexes during earlier stages of development, but it persists only in male adults. In addition, in this species there is a testis-specific hexokinase which is first observed during the pupal period.     

Completion of meiosis in uninseminated eggs of Drosophila melanogaster

Contrary to earlier statements, meiosis goes to completion in "Linfertilized" eggs of Drosophila melanogaster. Evidence suggests that this is not only characteristic of the strain examined but of the species as a whole and of other Drosophila species as well.     

Sperm-female coevolution in Drosophila

Rapid evolution of reproductive traits has been attributed to sexual selection arising from interaction between the sexes. However, little is known about the nature of selection driving the evolution of interacting sex-specific phenotypes. Using populations of Drosophila melanogaster selected for divergent sperm length or female sperm-storage organ length, we experimentally show that male fertilization success is determined by an interaction between sperm and female morphology. In addition, sperm length evolution occurred as a correlated response to selection on the female reproductive tract. Giant sperm tails are the cellular equivalent of the peacock's tail, having evolved because females evolved reproductive tracts that selectively bias paternity in favor of males with longer sperm.     

Nature of "sex-ratio" agent in Drosophila

Several lines of evidence implicate small spirochetes, presumably treponemata, as etiologic agents in the production of the maternally transmitted "sex ratio" condition (SR) in Drosophila nebulosa, in D. willistoni, and in strains of D. melanogaster into which the SR condition has been artificially transferred. The presence of treponemata in the hemolymph of adult females of these species is completely correlated with the production of unisexual progenies and like this condition is dependent on the genotype of the host and of the infectious agent.     

绣球菌多糖的提取及对果蝇寿命的影响

[目的]研究绣球菌多糖对果蝇寿命的影响.[方法]采用热水浸提法从绣球菌中提取多糖,并采用三氯乙酸法对多糖进行纯化,并研究绣球菌多糖对果蝇寿命的影响,为绣球菌的开发利用提供试验依据.[结果]热水浸提法提取的粗糖含量与得率分别为47.6％和15.26％;三氯乙酸法纯化后的多糖含量与得率分别为58.3％和7.7％.在0.2 ～5.0g／L时,绣球菌多糖能延长果蝇的寿命和半数死亡时间.当绣球菌水溶粗多糖在0.2g／L时,雄果蝇平均寿命延长26.6％,半数死亡时间为（46.4±2.6）d,最高寿命为（55.7±1.8）d,雄果蝇的寿命延长率最大.[结论]绣球菌多糖对果蝇的寿命有延长作用,对雄性的抗衰老效果好于雌性.     

2种果蝇取食后樱桃可培养微生物多样性的动态变化

[目的]确定黑腹果蝇和斑翅果蝇取食后樱桃微生物的动态变化。[方法]利用2种果蝇分别取食樱桃、共同取食樱桃和自然腐烂4种处理方式,经过2、4、6、8、10、12 d后,采用16S r DNA和ITS基因分析的方法分离鉴定樱桃中的微生物。[结果]所有处理共分离鉴定出16种细菌和12种真菌。随着时间的延长,不同处理樱桃中微生物的动态发生了变化。自然腐烂8~12 d的樱桃中微生物种类增多,优势细菌种群为荧光假单胞菌(Pseudomonas fluorescens)和葡萄球菌属(Staphylococcus sp.);黑腹果蝇取食第6天,微生物种类最多,优势细菌种群为厚壁菌门;而斑翅果蝇以及2种果蝇同时取食樱桃2 d后微生物种类就开始增加,可见斑翅果蝇的取食改变了微生物的多样性,从而加快了樱桃腐烂的速度,随后黑腹果蝇形成二次为害;另外,在2种果蝇取食后的樱桃中,白地霉(Geotrichum candidum)是樱桃中较稳定的优势真菌种群,但在自然腐烂的樱桃中并未发现。[结论]该研究可为探索微生物、樱桃、果蝇三者之间的协同进化关系提供理论依据。     

Phenol oxidases of a lozenge mutant of Drosophila

Monophenol oxidase (or tyrosinase-A(1)) activity appears to be absent from extracts from pupae of homozygous lozenge-glossy (lz(g)/lz(g)) females and (lz(g)/male symbol) males of Drosophila melanogaster. Diphenol oxidase (tyrosinase-A(2)) activity is less in the mutant extracts than in extracts of wild-type Oregon-R pupae of the same age and sex.     

Sex peptide of Drosophila melanogaster

All tested stocks of Drosophila melanogaster exhibit a peptide in males but not in females. The failure of some investigators to demonstrate its presence is attributable to their choice of chromatographic solvents. Acid hydrolysis confirms its peptide identity. Its presence in females transformed into males by the mutant tra implicates the sex-determining loci in its formation.     

Mating preference and the direction of evolution in Drosophila

Differences in the degree of successful matings between pairs of reciprocal hybrid matings indicate the direction of evolution among related species of Drosophila. Females of a derived species do not mate with males of the ancestral species, whereas females of the ancestral species readily mate with males of the derived species.     

Two Dobzhansky-Muller genes interact to cause hybrid lethality in Drosophila

The Dobzhansky-Muller model proposes that hybrid incompatibilities are caused by the interaction between genes that have functionally diverged in the respective hybridizing species. Here, we show that Lethal hybrid rescue (Lhr) has functionally diverged in Drosophila simulans and interacts with Hybrid male rescue (Hmr), which has functionally diverged in D. melanogaster, to cause lethality in F1 hybrid males. LHR localizes to heterochromatic regions of the genome and has diverged extensively in sequence between these species in a manner consistent with positive selection. Rapidly evolving heterochromatic DNA sequences may be driving the evolution of this incompatibility gene.     

Drosophila egg-laying site selection as a system to study simple decision-making processes

The ability to select a better option from multiple acceptable ones is important for animals to optimize their resources. The mechanisms that underlie such decision-making processes are not well understood. We found that selection of egg-laying site in Drosophila melanogaster is a suitable system to probe the neural circuit that governs simple decision-making processes. First, Drosophila females pursue active probing of the environment before depositing each egg, apparently to evaluate site quality for every egg. Second, Drosophila females can either accept or reject a sucrose-containing medium, depending on the context. Last, communication of the "acceptability" of the sucrose-containing medium as an egg-laying option to the reproductive system depends on the function of a group of insulin-like peptide 7 (ILP7)-producing neurons. These findings suggest that selection of egg-laying site involves a simple decision-making process and provide an entry point toward a systematic dissection of this process.     

绵阳樱桃果蝇的发生与防治

对绵阳市区樱桃果蝇发生特点进行了研究。结果表明,绵阳市区危害中国樱桃的果蝇有黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）和伊米果蝇（Drosophila immgrans）,黑腹果蝇为优势种。黑腹果蝇在绵阳一年发生10～11代,4月中下旬为绵阳市区中国樱桃黑腹果蝇发生高峰期。并根据其发生特点,提出了防治措施。     

刺近隅蛛雄蛛可通过蛛网识别雌蛛的生殖状态

化学通讯被认为是结网类蜘蛛两性间交流的主要方式,但对结漏斗网蜘蛛两性间的交流方式却少有研究.在了解刺近隅蛛Aterigena aculeata的求偶和交配过程的基础上,验证了处女雌蛛蛛网可以触发雄蛛的求偶行为,表明处女雌蛛蛛网上存在着某种化学物质,即性信息素.继而,将雄蛛置于不同生殖状态的雌蛛蛛网上,发现雄蛛面对处女雌蛛蛛网时的求偶延迟时间最短;已交配雌蛛蛛网也可以引起求偶,但延迟时间较长;而亚成体雌蛛和雄蛛的蛛网均不能触发求偶反应.表明雄性刺近隅蛛可以通过蛛网判断出它靠近的这头蜘蛛是否适合自己进行交配.漏斗蛛和其他结网类蜘蛛类似,化学通讯在两性交流过程中起着非常重要的作用.     

Genetic basis of natural variation in D. melanogaster antibacterial immunity

Many genes involved in Drosophila melanogaster innate immune processes have been identified, but whether naturally occurring polymorphism in these genes leads to variation in immune competence among wild flies has not been tested. We report here substantial variability among wild-derived D. melanogaster in the ability to suppress infection by a Gram-negative entomopathogen, Serratia marcescens. Variability in immune competence was significantly associated with nucleotide polymorphism in 16 innate immunity genes, corresponding primarily to pathogen recognition and intracellular signaling loci, and substantial epistasis was detected between intracellular signaling and antimicrobial peptide genes. Variation in these genes, therefore, seems to drive variability in immunocompetence among wild Drosophila.     

亚硝酸钠对果蝇寿命影响及Vc拮抗作用研究

以黑腹果蝇(Drosophila melanogaster)为试验材料,探讨了亚硝酸钠对果蝇寿命的影响及维生素C(Vc)的拮抗作用.结果表明:培养基中添加亚硝酸钠可以显著缩短果蝇的平均寿命,添加30、120和480 mg/mL亚硝酸钠处理组的雌果蝇平均寿命分别减少17.60%、44.47%和68.52%,雄性果蝇分别减...