AUTHOR=Vyas Meenal , Parepally Saravan Kumar , Kamala Jayanthi Pagadala Damodaram 

TITLE=Is the Natural Instinct to Oviposit in Mated Female Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis More of a Brain-Independent Act?

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.800441

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2022.800441

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p>What physiological and neuro-molecular changes control the female oviposition behavior post-mating in insects? The molecular changes that occur in a gravid female insect are difficult to dissect out considering the distinct behavioral patterns displayed by different insect groups. To understand the role of the brain center in Oriental fruit fly, <italic>Bactrocera dorsalis</italic> oviposition, egg-laying behavior was analyzed in γ-octalactone exposed, decapitated mated <italic>B. dorsalis</italic> females. Interestingly, the females displayed a possible urge to oviposit, which suggests a natural instinct to pass on the gene pool. Expression analysis of certain genes involved in oviposition behavior was also carried out in these insects to explore the molecular aspects of such behavior. This study tries to assess the involvement of brain center in egg-laying and also explore the role of certain neurotransmitter-related receptors in decapitated <italic>B. dorsalis</italic> oviposition behavior. Our results indicate that <italic>B. dorsalis</italic> oviposition behavior could potentially have a bypass route of neuronal control devoid of the brain. The study reported here establishes that decapitation in gravid females fails to abolish their ability to sense ovipositional cues and also to oviposit.</p>