Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 105, Issue 20, Pages 7135-7140Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0802692105
Keywords
behavior; cis-vaccenyl acetate; courtship; pheromones; Drosophila
Categories
Funding
- Direct For Biological Sciences
- Division Of Integrative Organismal Systems [0751650] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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in mammals and insects, pheromones strongly influence social behaviors such as aggression and mate recognition. In Drosophila melanogaster, pheromones in the form of cuticular hydrocarbons play prominent roles in courtship. GC/MS is the primary analytical tool currently used to study Drosophila cuticular hydrocarbons. Although GC/MS is highly reproducible and sensitive, it requires that the fly be placed in a lethal solution of organic solvent, thereby impeding further behavioral studies. We present a technique for the analysis of hydrocarbons and other surface molecules from live animals by using direct analysis in real-time (DART) MS. Cuticular hydrocarbons were-sampled from the surface of a restrained, awake behaving fly by using several brief, carefully controlled depressions of the abdomen with a small steel probe. DART mass spectral analysis of the probe detected ions with mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) of the protonated molecule corresponding to many of the previously identified unsaturated hydrocarbons. Six additional cuticular hydrocarbons also were identified. Consistent with previous GC/MS studies, male and female differences in chemical composition were evident. Spatial differences in the expression profile also were observed on males. Sampling from an individual female first as a virgin and then 45 and 90 min after successful copulation showed that mass signals likely to correspond to cis-vaccenyl acetate, tricosene, and pentacosene increased in relative intensity after courtship. This method provides near-instantaneous analysis of an individual animal's chemical profile in parallel with behavioral studies and could be extended to other models of pheromone-mediated behavior.
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