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Video Q&A ViewAttendees 2

Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology

Member Symposium

Multisystem and Novel Approaches to Insect Pest Management On-Demand Presentations

The gustatory Innovations of the world fruit pest Drosophila suzukii

On-Demand
On-Demand
Although most Drosophila species lay eggs in overripe fruit, the agricultural pest D. suzukii lays eggs in ripe fruit. We found that changes in bitter taste perception have accompanied this adaptation. We show that bitter-sensing mutants of D. melanogaster undergo a shift in egg laying preference toward ripe fruit. D. suzukii has lost 20% of the bitter-sensing sensilla from the labellum, the major taste organ of the head. Physiological responses to various bitter compounds are lost. Responses to strawberry purées are lost from two classes of taste sensilla. Egg laying is not deterred by bitter compounds that deter other species. Profiling of labellar transcriptomes reveals reduced expression of several bitter Gr genes (Gustatory receptors). These findings support a model in which bitter compounds in early ripening stages deter egg laying in most Drosophila species, but a loss of bitter response contributes to the adaptation of D. suzukii to ripe fruit.