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For gentlemen fruit flies in search of a mate, beauty is in the legs of the beholder. Because male Drosophila have a sensory system that keeps them from courting flies of a different species. And it’s located in their forelegs. The finding is in the journal Cell.
對(duì)雄性果蠅來(lái)說(shuō)，它們?cè)趯ふ野閭H的時(shí)候可是遵循情人腿里出西施的原則。因?yàn)樾坌怨売幸粋€(gè)感覺(jué)系統(tǒng)幫助它們分辨異類(lèi)。這個(gè)系統(tǒng)存在于它們的前腿上。這項(xiàng)研究成果收錄在《細(xì)胞》雜志上
When a boy fly approaches a potential partner, he taps her repeatedly on the side with those forelegs. But he’s not just being a pest. Turns out he’s checking her out at a molecular level.
當(dāng)一只雄性果蠅靠近一只潛在的伴侶時(shí)，它不停地敲打潛在伴侶的前腿。但是真相遠(yuǎn)沒(méi)有這么簡(jiǎn)單，它可是在分子層面上檢查潛在伴侶。
On his legs are sensory neurons equipped with a taste receptor called Gr32a. The receptor samples the waxy chemicals on the skin of his love interest. If the flavor is that of another species, Gr32a is turned on and the fly high-tails it out of there.
它的腿上有感覺(jué)神經(jīng)元，這些神經(jīng)元上有一種叫做Gr32a的味覺(jué)感受器。這種感受器檢驗(yàn)潛在伴侶皮膚上的蠟狀化學(xué)物質(zhì)。如果是其他物種，Gr32a就被激活，蒼蠅就飛走了。
When researchers removed the males’ sensory appendages, or simply disarmed Gr32a, the airborne Romeos tried to mate with any female on six legs. They even went for species that were three times larger than themselves, a relationship that even an untrained human eye can see is out of balance.
當(dāng)研究人員將雄性果蠅的感應(yīng)部位移除，或者是移除Gr32a，果蠅會(huì)跟任何六條腿的雌性交配。它們甚至能找比他們大三倍的昆蟲(chóng)交配。即使沒(méi)有訓(xùn)練過(guò)的人也能看出感應(yīng)部位與果蠅選擇配偶之間的關(guān)系。
The system presumably keeps male flies from wasting their time pursuing females with whom coupling would prove less than fruitful.
這個(gè)系統(tǒng)大概是為了使雄性果蠅在追求配偶的時(shí)候不浪費(fèi)過(guò)多時(shí)間，它們的交配并沒(méi)有那么頻繁。
