Comparative analyses of susceptibility to chemicals associated with fermentation between Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila suzukii

Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster Meigen and Drosophila suzukii Matsumura are taxonomically close Drosophila species belonging to the family Drosophilidae and melanogaster group. D. melanogaster is thought to be evolutionarily adapted to overripe, decaying, and fermented fruits, in which large amounts of chemicals such as ethanol, acetic acid, and 2-phenylethanol are produced, whereas, D. suzukii is attracted to fresh ripening fruit. Considering the distinct habitats of the two flies, D. suzukii is hypothesized to exhibit higher susceptibility to these chemicals than D. melanogaster. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the survival rate of the flies at various concentrations of three chemicals (2-phenlyethanol, acetic acid, and ethanol) and calculated the lethal concentration (LC) values to compare the tolerance and susceptibility of D. melanogaster and D. suzukii to the chemicals. Our results revealed that D. melanogaster exhibited higher tolerance than D. suzukii to all chemicals, supporting the hypothesis of different evolutionary adaptations to distinct habitats of the two flies.