IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/nature/v466y2010i7305d10.1038_nature09058.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Allelic variation in a fatty-acyl reductase gene causes divergence in moth sex pheromones

Author

Listed:
  • Jean-Marc Lassance

    (Lund University)

  • Astrid T. Groot

    (Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology)

  • Marjorie A. Liénard

    (Lund University)

  • Binu Antony

    (Lund University)

  • Christin Borgwardt

    (Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology)

  • Fredrik Andersson

    (Engineering and Mathematics, Mid Sweden University)

  • Erik Hedenström

    (Engineering and Mathematics, Mid Sweden University)

  • David G. Heckel

    (Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology)

  • Christer Löfstedt

    (Lund University)

Abstract

Sex pheromones: grounds for separation The European corn borer moth has become a model system for the study of the genetics of sexual communication and the role of sexual signals in speciation. This is in part because it consists of two sex pheromone races that use different ratios of the cis- and trans-isomers of acetate pheromone components, leading to strong reproductive isolation — a possible first step towards speciation. The genetic control of female pheromone production and male behavioural responses is proving difficult to unravel, but now a gene involved in pheromone-race difference has been identified. Variation in a fatty-acyl reductase gene essential for pheromone biosynthesis accounts for the phenotypic variation in female pheromone production, leading to race-specific signals. This shows that accumulation of substitutions in the coding region of a single enzyme can produce differences in the pheromone blend that are substantial enough to lead to reproductive isolation.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Marc Lassance & Astrid T. Groot & Marjorie A. Liénard & Binu Antony & Christin Borgwardt & Fredrik Andersson & Erik Hedenström & David G. Heckel & Christer Löfstedt, 2010. "Allelic variation in a fatty-acyl reductase gene causes divergence in moth sex pheromones," Nature, Nature, vol. 466(7305), pages 486-489, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:466:y:2010:i:7305:d:10.1038_nature09058
    DOI: 10.1038/nature09058
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature09058
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/nature09058?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:466:y:2010:i:7305:d:10.1038_nature09058. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.