ArticlePLoS genetics2012
Insulin signaling mediates sexual attractiveness in Drosophila.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mating imperatives drive plasticity of the daily temporal niche in fruit flies.Nature ecology & evolution · 2026Article
- Article
- Insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway promotes higher fat storage inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Genetic Underpinnings of Cuticular Hydrocarbon Biosynthesis in the German Cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.): Progress and Perspectives.Journal of chemical ecology · 2024Review
- C. elegans males optimize mate-preference decisions via sex-specific responses to multimodal sensory cues.Current biology : CB · 2024Article
- The diverse roles of insulin signaling in insect behavior.Frontiers in insect science · 2024Review
- The neuropeptide drosulfakinin enhances choosiness and protects males from the aging effects of social perception.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2023Article
- Road to sexual maturity: Behavioral event schedule from eclosion to first mating in each sex ofiScience · 2023Article
- Insulin-like peptide 8 (Ilp8) regulates female fecundity in flies.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Article
- WAKE-mediated modulation of cVA perception via a hierarchical neuro-endocrine axis in Drosophila male-male courtship behaviour.Nature communications · 2022Article
- The gut-microbiota-brain axis in autism: what Drosophila models can offer?Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2021Review
- Modulation of fatty acid elongation in cockroaches sustains sexually dimorphic hydrocarbons and female attractiveness.PLoS biology · 2021Article
- The microbiome and mosquito vectorial capacity: rich potential for discovery and translation.Microbiome · 2021Review
- Genetic basis of chemical communication in eusocial insects.Genes & development · 2021Review
- Aging Regulated Through a Stability Model of Insulin/Insulin Growth Factor Receptor Function.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Article
- Neuronal Mechanisms that Drive Organismal Aging Through the Lens of Perception.Annual review of physiology · 2020Review
- Simple animal models for microbiome research.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2019Review
- Sensory perception of dead conspecifics induces aversive cues and modulates lifespan through serotonin in Drosophila.Nature communications · 2019Article
- Ancestral and offspring nutrition interact to affect life-history traits in Drosophila melanogaster.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Article
- Perturbation of IIS/TOR signaling alters the landscape of sex-differential gene expression in Drosophila.BMC genomics · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Sexually attractive characteristics are often thought to reflect an individual's condition or reproductive potential, but the underlying molecular mechanisms through which they do so are generally unknown. Insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) is known to modulate aging, reproduction, and stress resistance in several species and to contribute to variability of these traits in natural populations. Here we show that IIS determines sexual attractiveness in Drosophila through transcriptional regulation of genes involved in the production of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC), many of which function as pheromones. Using traditional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) together with newly introduced laser desorption/ionization orthogonal time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) we establish that CHC profiles are significantly affected by genetic manipulations that target IIS. Manipulations that reduce IIS also reduce attractiveness, while females with increased IIS are significantly more attractive than wild-type animals. IIS effects on attractiveness are mediated by changes in CHC profiles. Insulin signaling influences CHC through pathways that are likely independent of dFOXO and that may involve the nutrient-sensing Target of Rapamycin (TOR) pathway. These results suggest that the activity of conserved molecular regulators of longevity and reproductive output may manifest in different species as external characteristics that are perceived as honest indicators of fitness potential.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.