| Title |
The Scent of the Fly
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Journal of Chemical Ecology, April 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s10886-018-0950-4 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| URN |
urn:nbn:se:miun:diva-33632
|
| Authors |
Paul G. Becher, Sebastien Lebreton, Erika A. Wallin, Erik Hedenström, Felipe Borrero, Marie Bengtsson, Volker Joerger, Peter Witzgall |
| Abstract |
(Z)-4-undecenal (Z4-11Al) is the volatile pheromone produced by females of the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster. Female flies emit Z4-11Al for species-specific communication and mate-finding. A sensory panel finds that synthetic Z4-11Al has a characteristic flavour, which can be perceived even at the small amounts produced by a single female fly. Since only females produce Z4-11Al, and not males, we can reliably distinguish between single D. melanogaster males and females, according to their scent. Females release Z4-11Al at 2.4 ng/h and we readily sense 1 ng synthetic Z4-11Al in a glass of wine (0.03 nmol/L), while a tenfold concentration is perceived as a loud off-flavour. This corroborates the observation that a glass of wine is spoilt by a single D. melanogaster fly falling into it, which we here show is caused by Z4-11Al. The biological role of Z4-11Al or structurally related aldehydes in humans and the basis for this semiochemical convergence remains yet unclear. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 34 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| France | 8 | 24% |
| United States | 8 | 24% |
| Colombia | 3 | 9% |
| Canada | 2 | 6% |
| United Kingdom | 2 | 6% |
| Argentina | 1 | 3% |
| Ecuador | 1 | 3% |
| Sweden | 1 | 3% |
| Poland | 1 | 3% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Unknown | 7 | 21% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 23 | 68% |
| Scientists | 8 | 24% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 2 | 6% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 3% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 84 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | 1% |
| Unknown | 83 | 99% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 21 | 25% |
| Student > Bachelor | 13 | 15% |
| Researcher | 9 | 11% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 7 | 8% |
| Professor | 6 | 7% |
| Other | 12 | 14% |
| Unknown | 16 | 19% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 18 | 21% |
| Environmental Science | 14 | 17% |
| Chemistry | 9 | 11% |
| Neuroscience | 5 | 6% |
| Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 14 | 17% |
| Unknown | 20 | 24% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 222. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 23 November 2023.
All research outputs
#176,118
of 25,728,855 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#5
of 2,182 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#4,071
of 344,007 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Chemical Ecology
#1
of 25 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,728,855 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,182 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.6. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 25 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.