PLoS ONE (Jan 2011)

Trade-off between toxicity and signal detection orchestrated by frequency- and density-dependent genes.

  • Laury Arthaud,
  • Selim Ben Rokia-Mille,
  • Hussein Raad,
  • Aviv Dombrovsky,
  • Nicolas Prevost,
  • Maria Capovilla,
  • Alain Robichon

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019805
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 5
p. e19805

Abstract

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Behaviors in insects are partly highly efficient Bayesian processes that fulfill exploratory tasks ending with the colonization of new ecological niches. The foraging (for) gene in Drosophila encodes a cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG). It has been extensively described as a frequency-dependent gene and its transcripts are differentially expressed between individuals, reflecting the population density context. Some for transcripts, when expressed in a population at high density for many generations, concomitantly trigger strong dispersive behavior associated with foraging activity. Moreover, genotype-by-environment interaction (GEI) analysis has highlighted a dormant role of for in energetic metabolism in a food deprivation context. In our current report, we show that alleles of for encoding different cGMP-dependent kinase isoforms influence the oxidation of aldehyde groups of aromatic molecules emitted by plants via Aldh-III and a phosphorylatable adaptor. The enhanced efficiency of oxidation of aldehyde odorants into carboxyl groups by the action of for lessens their action and toxicity, which should facilitate exploration and guidance in a complex odor environment. Our present data provide evidence that optimal foraging performance requires the fast metabolism of volatile compounds emitted by plants to avoid neurosensory saturation and that the frequency-dependent genes that trigger dispersion influence these processes.