The desaturase1 gene affects reproduction before, during and after copulation in Drosophila melanogaster

AbstractDesaturase1 (desat1) is one of the few genes known to be involved in the two complementary aspects of sensory communication — signal emission and signal reception — in Drosophila melanogaster. In particular, desat1 is necessary for the biosynthesis of major cuticular pheromones in both males and females. It is also involved in the male ability to discriminate sex pheromones. Each of these two sensory communication aspects depends on distinct desat1 putative regulatory regions. Here, we used (i) mutant alleles resulting from the insertion/excision of a transposable genomic element inserted in a desat1 regulatory region, and (ii) transgenics made with desat1 regulatory regions used to target desat1 RNAi. These genetic variants were used to study several reproduction-related phenotypes. In particular, we compared the fecundity of various mutant and transgenic desat1 females with regard to the developmental fate of their progeny. We also compared the mating performance in pairs of flies with altered d...