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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 3.
Published in final edited form as: Cell. 2013 Jul 3;154(1):20–21. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.06.015

Figure 1. Detection of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHs) underlies mate discrimination.

Figure 1

The foreleg of a D. melanogaster male makes contact with potential mates and detects key CHs. The indicated CHs of D. melanogaster males (7T) and D. simulans, D. yakuba, and D. virilis females (7T, 11P, or 9T) inhibit mating (red arrow) via Gr32a. Gr32a+ neurons may communicate indirectly with aDT6 (FruM+) neurons in the brain to inhibit courtship behavior. Another CH, 7,11HD, on conspecific females, has previously been shown to trigger male courtship behavior (green arrow; Billeter et al., 2009).