The goal of the proposed work is to gain a detailed understanding of the biochemical processes by which a product from the ovary initiates sex pheromone production in the common housefly. The housefly sex pheromone is a chemical attractant produced by the female to attract males for mating. A better understanding of sex pheromone production is needed to take advantage of this essential form of chemical communication in insects. The regulation of sex pheromone production in insects occurs via a brain factor in Lepidoptera, by juvenile hormones in cockroaches and beetles and by ecdysteroids in the housefly and perhaps in other Diptera. In none of these systems is it clearly understood which enzyme activities are affected to control sex pheromone production. The work proposed here is designed to gain a clear understanding of the enzymes influenced by ecdysone which result in sex pheromone production and to provide the basic information necessary to develop insect control strategies based on inhibiting sex pheromone production.
