Behaviour: Insects' life after sex

The molecular switch that triggers post-mating reproductive behaviour in female fruitfly is identified. Many insect females undergo a profound change in their behaviour after mating: mosquitoes seek out a blood meal; other insects prevent further mating and start laying lots of eggs. The discovery could therefore have important implications for strategies to control the reproductive and host-seeking behaviours of agricultural pests and disease carriers.

The behavioural switch had previously been attributed to a molecule from the male seminal fluid - the sex peptide. Now Barry J. Dickson and colleagues have found the receptor for this peptide and find that the neurons where it functions are implicated in other sex-related behaviours.

The authors report that this receptor, SPR, is conserved across insect species. Artificially stimulating it may result in the inhibition of both reproduction and host-seeking behaviour in target insects.

Author contact:
Barry J. Dickson (Institute of Molecular Pathology Vienna, Austria)
Tel: +43 1 797 30 3000; E-mail: dickson@imp.ac.at