{"entity": "researcher", "timestamp": "2026-09-26T23:31:12.339Z", "family": "Witzgall", "given": "Peter", "initials": "P", "orcid": "0000-0002-4697-3380", "affiliations": ["Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 102, 23053, Alnarp, Sweden. peter.witzgall@slu.se."], "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5af02493e623459aaa7478d904319f94.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5af02493e623459aaa7478d904319f94"}}, "publications": [{"entity": "publication", "iuid": "2bafc41450d94f81abd7644774c68ad2", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/2bafc41450d94f81abd7644774c68ad2.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/2bafc41450d94f81abd7644774c68ad2"}}, "title": "The Scent of the Fly.", "authors": [{"family": "Becher", "given": "Paul G", "initials": "PG"}, {"family": "Lebreton", "given": "Sebastien", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Wallin", "given": "Erika A", "initials": "EA"}, {"family": "Hedenstr\u00f6m", "given": "Erik", "initials": "E"}, {"family": "Borrero", "given": "Felipe", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Bengtsson", "given": "Marie", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Joerger", "given": "Volker", "initials": "V"}, {"family": "Witzgall", "given": "Peter", "initials": "P", "orcid": "0000-0002-4697-3380", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5af02493e623459aaa7478d904319f94.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2018-05-00", "journal": {"title": "J Chem Ecol", "issn": "1573-1561", "volume": "44", "issue": "5", "pages": "431-435", "issn-l": null}, "abstract": "(Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al) is the volatile pheromone produced by females of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster. Female flies emit Z4-11Al for species-specific communication and mate-finding. A sensory panel finds that synthetic Z4-11Al has a characteristic flavour, which can be perceived even at the small amounts produced by a single female fly. Since only females produce Z4-11Al, and not males, we can reliably distinguish between single D. melanogaster males and females, according to their scent. Females release Z4-11Al at 2.4 ng/h and we readily sense 1 ng synthetic Z4-11Al in a glass of wine (0.03 nmol/L), while a tenfold concentration is perceived as a loud off-flavour. This corroborates the observation that a glass of wine is spoilt by a single D. melanogaster fly falling into it, which we here show is caused by Z4-11Al. The biological role of Z4-11Al or structurally related aldehydes in humans and the basis for this semiochemical convergence remains yet unclear.", "doi": "10.1007/s10886-018-0950-4", "pmid": "29611073", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pii", "key": "10.1007/s10886-018-0950-4"}], "notes": [], "created": "2026-09-23T12:48:05.185Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T12:48:05.258Z"}, {"entity": "publication", "iuid": "efc6d6ffeee64f5fa0084201b38a02ff", "links": {"self": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/efc6d6ffeee64f5fa0084201b38a02ff.json"}, "display": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/publication/efc6d6ffeee64f5fa0084201b38a02ff"}}, "title": "A Drosophila female pheromone elicits species-specific long-range attraction via an olfactory channel with dual specificity for sex and food.", "authors": [{"family": "Lebreton", "given": "Sebastien", "initials": "S"}, {"family": "Borrero-Echeverry", "given": "Felipe", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Gonzalez", "given": "Francisco", "initials": "F"}, {"family": "Solum", "given": "Marit", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Wallin", "given": "Erika A", "initials": "EA"}, {"family": "Hedenstr\u00f6m", "given": "Erik", "initials": "E"}, {"family": "Hansson", "given": "Bill S", "initials": "BS"}, {"family": "Gustavsson", "given": "Anna-Lena", "initials": "AL"}, {"family": "Bengtsson", "given": "Marie", "initials": "M"}, {"family": "Birgersson", "given": "G\u00f6ran", "initials": "G"}, {"family": "Walker", "given": "William B", "initials": "WB"}, {"family": "Dweck", "given": "Hany K M", "initials": "HKM"}, {"family": "Becher", "given": "Paul G", "initials": "PG"}, {"family": "Witzgall", "given": "Peter", "initials": "P", "orcid": "0000-0002-4697-3380", "researcher": {"href": "https://publications-affiliated.scilifelab.se/researcher/5af02493e623459aaa7478d904319f94.json"}}], "type": "journal article", "published": "2017-09-29", "journal": {"title": "BMC Biol.", "issn": "1741-7007", "volume": "15", "issue": "1", "pages": "88", "issn-l": "1741-7007"}, "abstract": "Mate finding and recognition in animals evolves during niche adaptation and involves social signals and habitat cues. Drosophila melanogaster and related species are known to be attracted to fermenting fruit for feeding and egg-laying, which poses the question of whether species-specific fly odours contribute to long-range premating communication.\n\nWe have discovered an olfactory channel in D. melanogaster with a dual affinity to sex and food odorants. Female flies release a pheromone, (Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al), that elicits flight attraction in both sexes. Its biosynthetic precursor is the cuticular hydrocarbon (Z,Z)-7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), which is known to afford reproductive isolation between the sibling species D. melanogaster and D. simulans during courtship. Twin olfactory receptors, Or69aB and Or69aA, are tuned to Z4-11Al and food odorants, respectively. They are co-expressed in the same olfactory sensory neurons, and feed into a neural circuit mediating species-specific, long-range communication; however, the close relative D. simulans, which shares food resources with D. melanogaster, does not respond to Z4-11Al.\n\nThe Or69aA and Or69aB isoforms have adopted dual olfactory traits. The underlying gene yields a collaboration between natural and sexual selection, which has the potential to drive speciation.", "doi": "10.1186/s12915-017-0427-x", "pmid": "28962619", "labels": [], "xrefs": [{"db": "pmc", "key": "PMC5622430"}, {"db": "pii", "key": "10.1186/s12915-017-0427-x"}, {"db": "Dryad", "key": "10.5061/dryad.v54v8"}], "notes": [], "created": "2018-12-05T12:27:09.712Z", "modified": "2026-09-23T07:42:08.659Z"}]}