Analysis of the chemotactic and anti-ovarian response to honeybee Queen Mandibular Pheromone (QMP) and its constituent components in Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster can mimic qualities of honeybee altruism mediated by queen mandibular pheromone (QMP), a honeybee pheromone, which includes suppression of oogenesis and chemotactic attraction of males to sources of QMP. In this study, I assessed chemotaxis to the components of synthetic QMP (sQMP): the phenols; methyl-p-hydroxybenzoate (HOB) and 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenylethanol (HVA), and decenoic acids; 9-hydroxy-decenoic acid (9-HDA) and 9-oxo-decenoic acid (9-ODA). I found that the chemotactic response to these components is sexually dimorphic and they have complex interactions with one another. I conducted a screen to inhibit olfactory receptor neurons (ORN) using tetanus toxin (TeTx) and OrGAL4 drivers. Of the fifty-four ORs and eight ionotropic receptors (IRs) screened, I identified fourteen candidate receptors required for the chemotactic behavior. By inhibiting transmission of Or47b or Or94b neurons, I found that phenols have a role in anti-ovarian response to sQMP. These discoveries help advance our knowledge of honeybee QMP detection in Drosophila.