Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies
Abstract Animals employ different strategies to establish mating boundaries between closely related species, with sex pheromones often playing a crucial role in identifying conspecific mates. Many of these pheromones have carbon-carbon double bonds, making them vulnerable to oxidation by certain atm...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47117-7 |
| _version_ | 1797209217688403968 |
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| author | Nan-Ji Jiang Xinqi Dong Daniel Veit Bill S. Hansson Markus Knaden |
| author_facet | Nan-Ji Jiang Xinqi Dong Daniel Veit Bill S. Hansson Markus Knaden |
| author_sort | Nan-Ji Jiang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Animals employ different strategies to establish mating boundaries between closely related species, with sex pheromones often playing a crucial role in identifying conspecific mates. Many of these pheromones have carbon-carbon double bonds, making them vulnerable to oxidation by certain atmospheric oxidant pollutants, including ozone. Here, we investigate whether increased ozone compromises species boundaries in drosophilid flies. We show that short-term exposure to increased levels of ozone degrades pheromones of Drosophila melanogaster, D. simulans, D. mauritiana, as well as D. sechellia, and induces hybridization between some of these species. As many of the resulting hybrids are sterile, this could result in local population declines. However, hybridization between D. simulans and D. mauritiana as well as D. simulans and D. sechellia results in fertile hybrids, of which some female hybrids are even more attractive to the males of the parental species. Our experimental findings indicate that ozone pollution could potentially induce breakdown of species boundaries in insects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:51:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-88c72d62a1a1496881305377435cd021 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T09:51:12Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj.art-88c72d62a1a1496881305377435cd0212024-04-14T11:20:56ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232024-04-011511810.1038/s41467-024-47117-7Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid fliesNan-Ji Jiang0Xinqi Dong1Daniel Veit2Bill S. Hansson3Markus Knaden4Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyDepartment of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyMax Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyDepartment of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyDepartment of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical EcologyAbstract Animals employ different strategies to establish mating boundaries between closely related species, with sex pheromones often playing a crucial role in identifying conspecific mates. Many of these pheromones have carbon-carbon double bonds, making them vulnerable to oxidation by certain atmospheric oxidant pollutants, including ozone. Here, we investigate whether increased ozone compromises species boundaries in drosophilid flies. We show that short-term exposure to increased levels of ozone degrades pheromones of Drosophila melanogaster, D. simulans, D. mauritiana, as well as D. sechellia, and induces hybridization between some of these species. As many of the resulting hybrids are sterile, this could result in local population declines. However, hybridization between D. simulans and D. mauritiana as well as D. simulans and D. sechellia results in fertile hybrids, of which some female hybrids are even more attractive to the males of the parental species. Our experimental findings indicate that ozone pollution could potentially induce breakdown of species boundaries in insects.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47117-7 |
| spellingShingle | Nan-Ji Jiang Xinqi Dong Daniel Veit Bill S. Hansson Markus Knaden Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies Nature Communications |
| title | Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies |
| title_full | Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies |
| title_fullStr | Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies |
| title_short | Elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies |
| title_sort | elevated ozone disrupts mating boundaries in drosophilid flies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-47117-7 |
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