RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Exploring multiple sensory systems in ovipositors of Drosophila suzukii and related species with different egg-laying behaviour JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 651091 DO 10.1101/651091 A1 Cristina Maria Crava A1 Roberto Romani A1 Damiano Zanini A1 Simone Amati A1 Giorgia Sollai A1 Roberto Crnjar A1 Albrecht Haase A1 Marco Paoli A1 Marco Valerio Rossi-Stacconi A1 Omar Rota-Stabelli A1 Gabriella Tait A1 Gianfranco Anfora YR 2019 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/05/26/651091.abstract AB Drosophila suzukii is an invasive agricultural pest species that lays eggs in fruit during ripening, while most closely related Drosophila species use rotten matter as oviposition substrates. This behaviour is allowed by an enlarged and serrated ovipositor that can pierce intact fruit skin. D. suzukii combines multiple sensory systems (mechanosensation, olfaction, and taste) to select oviposition sites. Here, we test the hypothesis that the D. suzukii ovipositor is involved in these sensory modalities. We first investigate the ovipositor gene expression using a comparative framework of four Drosophila species with gradual changes in ovipositor morphology to identify evolutionary adaptations specific to D. suzukii. Results show transcription of chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors in the four species, with a common core of sensory receptors expressed in all of them. Then, we demonstrate that sensory structures present in the distal tip of the D. suzukii ovipositor are mechanosensory-like sensilla, and that the degenerin/epithelial sodium channel ppk is expressed in homologous structures in Drosophila melanogaster. Our results suggest the D. suzukii ovipositor playing a role in mechanosensation, which might be shared with other Drosophila species.