Speaker
Description
The genus Drosophila comprises numerous species that differ in their microhabitats, as well as in their olfactory preferences. Here, we conducted artificial selection experiments to induce olfactory preference for novel food sources in Drosophila melanogaster. In two-choice experiments, the flies could choose between an odor they are usually attracted to, such as the odor of yeast, and the odor of human or horse feces. Although feces are an energy-rich, abundant resource utilized by various organisms, including Diptera,
D. melanogaster does not feed on or reproduce in feces. The few flies that chose feces were bred further, and their offspring's preferences were tested each generation. Regardless of whether the experiment was conducted with the Canton-S laboratory strain or a line of wild-caught flies, we found a significantly increased preference for feces odor after eight generations.
In a follow-up study, we will investigate whether this change in preference is accompanied by increased sensitivity to feces odors and/or decreased sensitivity to yeast odors.
