Sight of parasitoid wasps accelerates sexual behavior and upregulates a micropeptide gene in Drosophila

Shimaa A. M. Ebrahim; Gaëlle J. S. Talross; John R. Carlson

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-22712-0

Nature Communications (Apr 2021)

Sight of parasitoid wasps accelerates sexual behavior and upregulates a micropeptide gene in Drosophila

Shimaa A. M. Ebrahim,
Gaëlle J. S. Talross,
John R. Carlson

Affiliations

Shimaa A. M. Ebrahim: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University
Gaëlle J. S. Talross: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University
John R. Carlson: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Yale University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22712-0
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 12, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

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Parasitoids exploit host bodies for reproduction, selecting for host defences. A new host defence is reported, in which adult Drosophila accelerate mating behaviour at the sight of certain parasitoid wasps, mediated by the upregulation of a nervous system gene that encodes a 41-amino acid micropeptide.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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