Isolation of a deet-insensitive mutant of Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae). |
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Authors: | N L Reeder P J Ganz J R Carlson C W Saunders |
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Institution: | Corporate Research Division, Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH 45253-8707, USA. |
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Abstract: | Despite the widespread use of N,N,-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (deet) in insect repellent products, nothing is known about the molecular basis for the repellency of deet, we initiated a molecular genetics program to elucidate the molecular mechanism of deet repellency in Drosophila melanogaster (Meigen). Deet repellency was apparently due to airborne vapors, as wild type flies were repelled by a deet-treated surface in the absence of physical contact and in the dark. A mutant was isolated using chemical mutagenesis and at choice assay. In a choice assay, mutant flies entered 82 +/- 1% of deet-containing tubes, whereas wild type flies entered only 6 +/- 2% of deet-containing tubes. The mutant was repelled by other repellents, benzaldehyde and citronellal. The mutation was recessive and located on the X chromosome. |
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