Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Analysis of the chemotactic and anti-ovarian response to honeybee Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP) and its constituent components in Drosophila melanogaster

Suhayr Solangi, The University of Western Ontario

Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster can mimic qualities of honeybee altruism mediated by queen mandibular pheromone (QMP), a honeybee pheromone, which includes suppression of oogenesis and chemotactic attraction of males to sources of QMP. In this study, I assessed chemotaxis to the components of synthetic QMP (sQMP): the phenols; methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (HOB) and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethanol (HVA), and decenoic acids; 9-hydroxy-decenoic acid (9-HDA) and 9-oxo-decenoic acid (9-ODA). I found that the chemotactic response to these components is sexually dimorphic and they have complex interactions with one another. I conducted a screen to inhibit olfactory receptor neurons (ORN) using tetanus toxin (TeTx) and OrGAL4 drivers. Of the fifty-four ORs and eight ionotropic receptors (IRs) screened, I identified fourteen candidate receptors required for the chemotactic behavior. By inhibiting transmission of Or47b or Or94b neurons, I found that phenols have a role in anti-ovarian response to sQMP. These discoveries help advance our knowledge of honeybee QMP detection in Drosophila.