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Jocelyn G. Millar

Bio: Jocelyn G. Millar is an academic researcher from University of California, Riverside. The author has contributed to research in topics: Sex pheromone & Pheromone. The author has an hindex of 57, co-authored 435 publications receiving 12421 citations. Previous affiliations of Jocelyn G. Millar include National Research Council & University of California, Berkeley.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
15 Oct 2009-Nature
TL;DR: The results identify a common mechanism for sexual and species recognition regulated by cuticular hydrocarbons, and provide direct evidence that a single compound is used to communicate female identity among D. melanogaster, and to define a reproductive isolation barrier between D. pigmentaster and sibling species.
Abstract: Social interaction within and between species is well known to rely on chemical communication but the underlying codes are hidden in complex blends of pheromones. Billeter et al. have now genetically ablated the cells that produce hydrocarbon pheromones in the cuticle of Drosophila melanogaster fruitflies — the oenocytes — to create a 'blank state' in which to study chemical communication. Surprisingly, oenocyte-less flies, male or female, are sexually hyper-attractive for male flies, and even for males from a different species. The normal social and species boundaries are restored by 'perfuming' the flies with individual synthetic chemicals. Many organisms use chemical signals to indicate species and sex. Cuticular hydrocarbon signals are used by insects, including Drosophila melanogaster, to distinguish conspecific individuals from others, and they also contribute to courtship and mating interactions. Direct evidence is now provided that a single compound is used to communicate female identity among D. melanogaster, and to define a reproductive isolation barrier between D. melanogaster and sibling species. Social interactions depend on individuals recognizing each other, and in this context many organisms use chemical signals to indicate species and sex1. Cuticular hydrocarbon signals are used by insects, including Drosophila melanogaster, to distinguish conspecific individuals from others1,2,3. These chemicals also contribute to intraspecific courtship and mating interactions1,2,3. However, the possibility that sex and species identification are linked by common chemical signalling mechanisms has not been formally tested. Here we provide direct evidence that a single compound is used to communicate female identity among D. melanogaster, and to define a reproductive isolation barrier between D. melanogaster and sibling species. A transgenic manipulation eliminated cuticular hydrocarbons by ablating the oenocytes, specialized cells required for the expression of these chemical signals. The resulting oenocyte-less (oe-) females elicited the normal repertoire of courtship behaviours from males, but were actually preferred over wild-type females by courting males. In addition, wild-type males attempted to copulate with oe- males. Thus, flies lacking hydrocarbons are a sexual hyperstimulus. Treatment of virgin females with the aversive male pheromone cis-vaccenyl acetate (cVA) significantly delayed mating of oe- females compared to wild-type females. This difference was eliminated when oe- females were treated with a blend of cVA and the female aphrodisiac (7Z,11Z)-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), showing that female aphrodisiac compounds can attenuate the effects of male aversive pheromones. 7,11-HD also was shown to have a crucial role in heterospecific encounters. Specifically, the species barrier was lost because males of other Drosophila species courted oe- D. melanogaster females, and D. simulans males consistently mated with them. Treatment of oe- females with 7,11-HD restored the species barrier, showing that a single compound can confer species identity. These results identify a common mechanism for sexual and species recognition regulated by cuticular hydrocarbons.

366 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
17 Jan 2014-Science
TL;DR: The results show that queen pheromones are strikingly conserved across at least three independent origins of eusociality, with wasps, ants, and some bees all appearing to use nonvolatile, saturated hydrocarbons to advertise fecundity and/or suppress worker reproduction.
Abstract: A major evolutionary transition to eusociality with reproductive division of labor between queens and workers has arisen independently at least 10 times in the ants, bees, and wasps. Pheromones produced by queens are thought to play a key role in regulating this complex social system, but their evolutionary history remains unknown. Here, we identify the first sterility-inducing queen pheromones in a wasp, bumblebee, and desert ant and synthesize existing data on compounds that characterize female fecundity in 64 species of social insects. Our results show that queen pheromones are strikingly conserved across at least three independent origins of eusociality, with wasps, ants, and some bees all appearing to use nonvolatile, saturated hydrocarbons to advertise fecundity and/or suppress worker reproduction. These results suggest that queen pheromones evolved from conserved signals of solitary ancestors.

289 citations

BookDOI
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: The chemical ecology of fragrance-driven pollination and the relationship between tiger moths and plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids and the structure of the pheromone communication channel in moths are studied.
Abstract: Preface 1. Phytochemical diversity of insect defenses in tropical and temperate plant families John T. Arason, Gabriel Guillet and Tony Durst 2. Recruitment of predators and parasitoids by herbivore-injured plants Ted C. J. Turlings and Felix Wackers 3. Chemical ecology of astigmatid mites Yasumasa Kuwahara 4. Semiochemistry of spiders Stefan Schulz 5. Why do flowers smell? The chemical ecology of fragrance-driven pollination Robert A. Raguso 6. Sex pheromones of cockroaches Cesar Gemeno and Coby Schal 7. A quest for alkaloids: curious relationship between tiger moths and plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids William E. Conner and Susan J. Weller 8. Structure of the pheromone communication channel in moths Ring T. Carde and Kenneth F. Haynes Index.

239 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Compounds which attract and stimulate oviposition by gravid Culex quinquefasciatus were isolated and identified from a fermented Bermuda grass infusion, and bioassays with individual compounds showed that only 3-methylindole consistently induced Oviposition.
Abstract: Compounds which attract and stimulate oviposition by gravid Culex quinquefasciatus were isolated and identified from a fermented Bermuda grass infusion. The neutral portion of the ether extract of the aqueous infusion contained the stimulatory materials. Fractionation by liquid chromatography yielded an active fraction containing phenol, 4-methylphenol, 4-ethylphenol, indole and 3-methylindole. A blend of the 5 compounds strongly stimulated oviposition, as did blends of any 4 of them. Bioassays with individual compounds showed that only 3-methylindole consistently induced oviposition, in concentrations spanning 5 orders of magnitude.

190 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
07 Mar 2014-Science
TL;DR: It is shown that methyl-branched cuticular hydrocarbons (mbCHCs) are a dual trait that affects both desiccation resistance and mate choice in Drosophila serrata, and suggested that ecologically influenced changes in the production of mbCHCs have contributed to reproductive isolation between the two species.
Abstract: Evolutionary changes in traits involved in both ecological divergence and mate choice may produce reproductive isolation and speciation. However, there are few examples of such dual traits, and the genetic and molecular bases of their evolution have not been identified. We show that methyl-branched cuticular hydrocarbons (mbCHCs) are a dual trait that affects both desiccation resistance and mate choice in Drosophila serrata. We identify a fatty acid synthase mFAS (CG3524) responsible for mbCHC production in Drosophila and find that expression of mFAS is undetectable in oenocytes (cells that produce CHCs) of a closely related, desiccation-sensitive species, D. birchii, due in part to multiple changes in cis-regulatory sequences of mFAS. We suggest that ecologically influenced changes in the production of mbCHCs have contributed to reproductive isolation between the two species.

185 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The rapidly expanding literature on habitat management is reviewed with attention to practices for favoring predators and parasitoids, implementation of habitat management, and the contributions of modeling and ecological theory to this developing area of conservation biological control.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract Many agroecosystems are unfavorable environments for natural enemies due to high levels of disturbance. Habitat management, a form of conservation biological control, is an ecologically based approach aimed at favoring natural enemies and enhancing biological control in agricultural systems. The goal of habitat management is to create a suitable ecological infrastructure within the agricultural landscape to provide resources such as food for adult natural enemies, alternative prey or hosts, and shelter from adverse conditions. These resources must be integrated into the landscape in a way that is spatially and temporally favorable to natural enemies and practical for producers to implement. The rapidly expanding literature on habitat management is reviewed with attention to practices for favoring predators and parasitoids, implementation of habitat management, and the contributions of modeling and ecological theory to this developing area of conservation biological control. The potential to int...

2,705 citations

Book ChapterDOI
30 Dec 2011
TL;DR: This table lists the most common surnames in the United States used to be Anglicised as "United States", then changed to "United Kingdom" in the 1990s.
Abstract: OUTPU T 29 OUTPU T 30 OUTPU T 31 OUTPU T 32 OUTPU T 25 OUTPU T 26 OUTPU T 27 OUTPU T 28 OUTPU T 21 OUTPU T 22 OUTPU T 23 OUTPU T 24 OUTPU T 17 OUTPU T 18 OUTPU T 19 OUTPU T 20 OUTPU T 13 OUTPU T 14 OUTPU T 15 OUTPU T 16 OUTPU T 9 OUTPU T 10 OUTPU T 11 OUTPU T 12 OUTPU T 5 OUTPU T 6 OUTPU T 7 OUTPU T 8 OUTPU T 1 OUTPU T 2 OUTPU T 3 OUTPU T 4 29 30 31 32 25 26 27 28 21 22 23 24 17 18 19 20 13 14 15 16 9

1,662 citations

Book ChapterDOI
15 Mar 2012

1,516 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This review covers selected literature from 1982 to the present on some of the ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of hydrocarbon use by insects and other arthropods.
Abstract: ▪ Abstract This review covers selected literature from 1982 to the present on some of the ecological, behavioral, and biochemical aspects of hydrocarbon use by insects and other arthropods. Major ecological and behavioral topics are species- and gender-recognition, nestmate recognition, task-specific cues, dominance and fertility cues, chemical mimicry, and primer pheromones. Major biochemical topics include chain length regulation, mechanism of hydrocarbon formation, timing of hydrocarbon synthesis and transport, and biosynthesis of volatile hydrocarbon pheromones of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera. In addition, a section is devoted to future research needs in this rapidly growing area of science.

1,111 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work focuses on studies showing that males assess mating status and relative fecundity of females, and reveals that modulation of ejaculate investment by males can sometimes result in sperm limitation for females.
Abstract: Sperm are produced in astronomical numbers compared with eggs, and there is good evidence that sperm competition is the force behind the evolution of many tiny sperm. However, sperm production inevitably has costs. Recent research shows that male ejaculate expenditure is dynamic in both time and space, and that males are sensitive to risks of sperm competition and can vary ejaculate size accordingly. We focus on studies showing that males assess mating status and relative fecundity of females, and reveal that modulation of ejaculate investment by males can sometimes result in sperm limitation for females.

1,097 citations